Riprendere
by mika zero-zero twenty-one
Summary: [Ch. 10 PART TWO]: Those dear to you...can you save them? The kiss that seals all their fates...009X003
1. The Fallen

It was promised…and now it's here! Welcome to the awaited sequel of D.S. al Coda! I'm your host Mika, along with a whole new villain group to boot! It's fun, exciting, and has people from deleted stories coming back to life! WHOO! And now, for the stupid information that all of you already know…

The rating: PG-13, Teen, whatever the hell it is now.

The reason: MUSTARD! Just kidding. There's drama, language, violence, shonen- and shojou-ai, and a variety of other things that go wrong. Oh yeah, gore. Splaying angel guts all over the place isn't exactly G, is it? There will be shojou and shonen-ai in this story! Just a warning for those who don't think they can take it. BUT THE MUSTARD! MUSTARD WILL TAKE OVER THE PLANET! ((runs to hide))

Genres: fantasy, action, adventure, drama, romance, condiments

I do not own Cyborg 009; I only partially own 0021 and own the White Angel Organization and Mirllyne. You guys are so awesome, thanks for putting up with all this nonsense that's required! And now, you will be taking up the original tempo with…

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Riprendere

Prologue: The Fallen

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A girl with short, extremely light brown hair and shockingly green eyes all but flew down a corridor. She herself was vertically challenged, standing at a mere four feet and eight inches. As she walked past people, she drew quite a bit of attention. Some of the people had wings and halos, while others had hardhats and guns.

"Tsukasa, you do know that the partnership has been cleared, and we have now become the White Angel Organization." A tall girl with dark rose-pink hair and clouded blue eyes said. She had wings, but she carried her halo in her hand.

"I know, Zaffiel. It has come to my attention, thank you." Tsukasa, the short girl said. "I also saw to it that Marco will be reporting to me, and that I now head both organizations with this deal. If he wants the fallen to work for him, he must abide with my rules."

"We know that. That we do. The only problem is the rouge one…" Zaffiel said. She began twirling her golden halo around her finger. "I doubt she can do very much now, can she? We've already ridded her of all ties, that we have. Arien is currently taking care of the rest of the necessary things. But we would all like to know: are we going to chase 'Generation Zero'?"

Tsukasa turned down a different hall. "I don't see any reason to. Get Pandora, though…I really want to hurt her. I'm sure you do too?"

"Indeed." Zaffiel responded. "But I'm still confused. Why are you, the daughter of Chaos, helping us? We are fallen angels, that we are."

"You must remember, Zaffiel, that without chaos, there is no order, and therefore no existence in the entire universe. Once the box was opened, hope was freed and made it so she controlled chaos. I no longer had a purpose, and therefore was counted as a fallen angel." Tsukasa explained calmly. Zaffiel nodded and continued to play with her halo.

"Okay, I understand. And what gave you authorization to do all of this?" Zaffiel asked, waving a few of the others off with a wave of her hand. "You are of a rank…"

"That doesn't matter," Tsukasa argued. "What matters now…"

A girl with pale pink wings, a long powder blue braid, and pink eyes came bolting toward them. She stopped before mowing down Zaffiel and bowed.

"Miss Tsukasa – I have completed the task." She said, still in a deep bow. Tsukasa smiled at her.

"Thank you, Arien. Are they in the designated rooms?" Tsukasa asked, signaling for Arien to stand once again. Arien regained her composure.

"Of course! Now, I must be going – I promised to play with Jessica!" Arien said, running off down the hall once again. Zaffiel and Tsukasa continued on their merry way in the opposite direction.

"Well, Zaffiel…it is time to put this plan into effect. We, the White Angel Organization, in cooperation with the Black Ghost Organization, will seal Hope again once more and kill those who opened the box. We will prove that human relations are futile, and that we're better bad guys!" Tsukasa said, opening a door with the press of a button. "And you, my most trusted fallen angel…"

"Yes, I know…that I do." Zaffiel said, gently kissing the younger girl. Tsukasa grinned at Zaffiel. "Tsukasa, you do know that they won't all be affected by what Arien did."

"For that, I have two new cyborgs. They have amazing abilities, and were created by Alexa and Marco themselves. And remember yourself, Zaffiel. You are a fallen angel, and you have a power of your own." Tsukasa turned to a glass wall, behind which the ocean drifted past, and pressed her hands to it. "You can make people feel emotion…"

"I can not. I am not the angel of emotion; I am the angel of storms. You will need to contact a whole different class to be able to pull that off, that you will." Zaffiel said, walking to the glass. "There is no need for angels to live any longer, Tsukasa. The eight children of the two shrines have destroyed Heliopolis and Lunapolis. Our homes are gone, and we are rejected at the gates to heaven. There's no reason for angels to exist and give hope, because there is now hope in the world from Pandora's Box."

Tsukasa turned to look up at the angel. "But, we can change all that."

Zaffiel's cloudy blue eyes widened. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"Gathering a few key people, including all the rebel cyborgs. With the ones we have that are dear to a few cyborgs, they will get all the others and we'll have them all. It's not very hard to figure out, Zaffiel. Once that happens, Omega is sure to sense that an end is near and be drawn to it." Tsukasa explained. "Then we'll pull in Hope, Pandora and all the others."

She and Zaffiel stood for a while, watching fish swim by the window. Arien burst through the door, braid whipping around behind her head.

"Miss Tsukasa – I've been sent to tell you…we have reports of the cyborgs noticing. Oh yes, and we have a runner." Arien said. Tsukasa smiled at Arien, who had dropped her halo in her last bow. She blushed and hastily picked it up. "And Nirine has asked me to remind you that there are rankings higher than Zaffiel."

"Tell her to fuck herself." Tsukasa said. "I don't care what she says, Zaffiel has gone to the top of rankings."

Arien bowed once again and left. Tsukasa turned away from the window. "It's only true, Zaffiel. The rankings still hold, but you have been taken far up from where you were."

Zaffiel bowed her head, returning her halo so it floated about three inches above the crown of her head. "I am honored to be at your service."

"Don't worry about that any longer." Tsukasa said. "You have proved yourself far more worthy than all the Class One Angels in any case. You've even proved higher than Class Two. I don't care what any of them say. Tell them that they can talk to me."

"And your entire plot is…?" Zaffiel asked, before Tsukasa could continue her ranting. Her own blush had deepened considerably from the normal pale tone of her skin. "I still have yet to hear of it."

"Simple. Get Hope and seal her back into the box. Possibly find Helios and Luna and force them to rebuild their cities. It depends." Tsukasa said, taking a seven-foot staff against its leaning post on the wall. It was black with a swirling metal over it, and at the top was a green orb, floating an inch above its base. "It is time, Zaffiel. Let's get this thing started."

"Surely we should inform Enala…?" Zaffiel asked.

"Absolutely not. This is our mission. The time is now or never."

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	2. Reprise

Welcome officially to Riprendere! This, as I said before, is a sequel to D.S. al Coda. The events that took place there will be brought up numerous times (such as Operation Boom and Dust, 0099, Pandora's Box…), and you'll probably want to know how they went. I must tell you that this opening sequence is a large part of 0021's appearance in the story, for she had her chance. ((kicks 0021)) So we have everyone else now, back in action!

Riprendere takes place two years after D.S. al Coda finished. So yes, I did change a bunch of things. Such as names revert back to the originals. In case you don't remember…

0014 – Tirzah Amethyst  
0015 – Ra  
0016 – Kimberly Ann Porsheka  
0017 – Anya Urameshi / Lily Higurashi  
0021 – Sadie Sammut  
0024 – _new _Jessica Tucker  
0026 – _new _Megsie Bluestar  
0033 – _new_ Mirllyne  
0034 – Tasha Williams / Tie  
0037 – Julia  
0042 – Riko Miyami  
0043 – Eleanor Pierrot  
0049 – Joe  
0050 – Deak Deapolow  
0057 – _new_ Enx  
0061 - Rose

We do not own 001 through 0061, so do not ask! We do own all the angels, Tsukasa, D.S., the children of the shrines, and Generation Zero! Peace for all time! And so you don't ask, the 'S' mark over D.S.'s left eye is a musical thing. What is she? My secret, that's what! Enjoy!

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Riprendere

Chapter One: Reprise

**Movement One: End of the Beginning**

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"This is _her _house?" Jet Link demanded, unfolding himself from the passenger seat of a car. He and Joe Shimamura were in northern California, having set out to find 0021. Jet had been expecting nothing short of something overgrown with weeds, a cemetery and several old torture devices on display on the front lawn. To his absolute shock, it was instead a very normal house with a pine tree over the front lawn.

"That's what I think. Let's find out, shall we?" Joe asked, walking up the walkway. Jet gulped and followed the other man. It was then that part of Jet's fantasy came true: a large black dog was jumping and barking in a side yard off the porch. Joe knocked on the door.

"JUST A SECOND!" A female's voice shouted from inside. There was more barking coming from inside, as well as a strange sound. Joe and Jet faced one another, wondering if this was indeed the right house. The door opened.

Inside stood a girl with chest-length light brown hair that had been layered. She had blue-green-gray eyes covered by circular glasses. Beneath her hair were thrice-pierced ears with gold hoops, aquamarine studs over silver and diamonds over white gold in them. She wore a pair of green camouflage pants, an ivory short-sleeved hooded sweater and black open-finger gloves. Behind her blared a remix of Simple and Clean. Upon registering Jet and Joe on her porch, she screamed.

"OMIGOD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" She asked, throwing her arms around both of the men. "No, seriously, why are you here?"

She drew herself back up to normal and invited them inside. There, it was a mess of notebooks and stray paper spread all over. The television was set to a Japanese anime and a laptop computer was open on the couch. Coke cans were scattered around, along with a few bowls of snacks.

"Sorry about the mess. I just have to finish a few things before I leave for college." 0021 explained, waving a hand to clean up. She pointed a finger toward a hallway and the music came to a stop.

"College?" Joe asked, trying to start a conversation. He sat down on the couch, as did Jet.

"Yes, I'll be heading straight into my sophomore year." 0021 replied, seating herself in an armchair. "High school is done, and then three years…and I'm turning eighteen in under a month. Lots to look forward to, ne? Oh, please call me Sadie."

Jet shifted. A girl poked her head out from around a corner.

"Sadie…I don't have the best of news." The new girl said, walking into full view. She had ruby red eyes and snow white pulled back into pigtails that fell to her knees. Her clothes were simple: a tied white t-shirt and heavily pocketed jeans. "Hey, we have company! Awesome!"

"Mind introducing us?" Jet asked.

"I'm Mirllyne!" Mirllyne said, smiling and throwing her arms up and jabbing a thumb to her chest. "Sadie, your family…"

"You were saying, Joe?" Sadie asked.

"About your family. Black Ghost isn't gone. They kidnapped our families." Joe explained at the same time Mirllyne did. They blinked to one another.

"Yeah, do you I wanted to come here to kiss and make up?" Jet demanded. Mirllyne frowned at him.

"You must be Jet Link, and the other is Joe Shimamura. Sadie has told me a lot about you two." Mirllyne said. Sadie, on the other hand, had her glasses off and in her hands.

"You're lying? Please tell me you are." Sadie said in a shaking voice. She had become very pale. Joe's look told her otherwise. "I can't come."

"Your family has been captured…" Jet began, but was cut off by Mirllyne.

"BY WHITE ANGEL AND BLACK GHOST! WE NEED TO GET THE OTHERS RIGHT NOW!" She shouted. Sadie put her glasses on and went out the back door, down a few steps, and pressed her hand into the wall. It fell away to reveal a dark staircase. Sadie held out her hand and fire lit the path.

"YES!" Mirllyne exclaimed, bouncing down after Sadie. Jet and Joe followed warily, wondering what was going to happen.

When they got to the bottom of the stairwell, they were nothing short of amazed. It was the Dolphin, in its full glory. Mirllyne was beaming.

"Wait 'til you see inside! I upgraded it!" Mirllyne declared, pointing to ladder leading up to the entrance. She climbed up, followed closely by Sadie. Joe was after her, and last came a grumbling Jet. He would much rather have still been in Manhattan with Tirzah. Joe had asked him to come, since he didn't want to face 0021 alone. Jet had agreed, hoping that they wouldn't be able to locate her. And here he was, with twice the insanity: Sadie _and _Mirllyne.

The first thing Joe noticed was a black sword hilt. At the bottom of it was a faceted sparkling stone, as well as smaller, similar stones pointing off where the blade would have sat. It was rimmed with silver. Mirllyne hastily seized it and put it into her belt.

"That's _my _sword, mind you." Mirllyne said. "Excalibur belonged to my boyfriend."

"In any case, what do you think?" Sadie asked, smiling and replacing her glasses. "I think Mirllyne upgraded everything, including the toilet!"

"Shouldn't we get some of the others?" Jet asked nervously. He wanted both to see Tirzah, and to not be alone with only Joe and these two psychotic girls. Sadie nodded and closed her eyes. She pressed her pointer and middle fingers with her temples and concentrated. Seconds later, nine other females and six males appeared in the control room of the Dolphin with them.

"I was in the middle of something…" A girl with waist-length black hair said. Her bright blue eyes glittered. "It was my birthday wish for my family to die…and it came true."

Sadie was still concentrating hard. Her face twitched, as if she were in pain. Seconds later, several loud popping noises were made as six more girls and four more boys fell into the Dolphin.

"Oh…" One with shoulder-length honey blond hair said. "Are you planning on calling _them_ here?…"

There was a brilliant flash of white light, and a final group of six girls and two boys appeared. Sadie sunk into the nearest chair. This bunch was dressed in regal clothes with several gems hemmed into the cloth.

"You asked for some, and you got some." Sadie said.

"What's the problem? Why are we all back on this thing?" A tall girl with purple hair and eyes said. "We're not here for a stupid reason, are we?"

"Yes, I second that." A boy with golden-orange hair and bright blue eyes said. "Our cities are in ruins from the angels raging around, since they fell from heaven."

"WHOA! YOU LOST ME AT 'RUINS'!" Sadie shouted, now on her feet once more. "First, Mirllyne says something about a thing called White Angel. Now it's you with fallen angels. What's going on?"

"Look, 0021…life isn't as easy as just Black Ghost any longer." The blond girl said. Her icy eyes glanced down. "When my box was opened, Hope was freed and there was no longer a need for angels, since they gave hope. They fell from heaven and were outraged by this turnout. In their fury, they destroyed the only places they were invited: Heliopolis and Lunapolis. Now that they had nowhere to go, they are now seeking revenge on us and started the White Angel Organization."

"And we all have things to get back to." The purple-eyed girl said impatiently.

"Look…this isn't any normal bad guy." Mirllyne said desperately.

"Don't think I don't know your past." A mahogany-haired, blue-eyed girl said. "The other seven do, too."

Mirllyne paled slightly. "In any case, we're dealing with _angels_. Angels have abilities far more powerful than any of Generation Zero, and kick your butts in two seconds flat if they felt like it. _And _they've got a lot of important things to you, including family."

"I killed my family…they don't exist any longer." The raven-haired girl said.

"Yes, but _our _homes are in ruins." A silver-headed and brilliantly blue-eyed girl said. "Myself, Apollo, Helios, Artemis, Diana, Eos, Luna and Umbra have had our cities destroyed and now have haunted angels floating about them."

"Selene, I _adore_ how positive you are." The boy with sea-green hair and bottle green eyes teased. Selene sighed.

"Well, when you think about it, we really must find out what did it…" The blond said sadly. "Time to get ourselves re-introduced. I'm Pandora."

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"What do you mean, Arien?" Zaffiel demanded of the lower-ranking angel. Arien was nearly in tears.

"I mean that they're all back together! Not just Generations Zero through Three, but they have the children of the cities with them, too!" Arien wailed. Zaffiel's eyes widened and the door behind her flew open to admit Tsukasa. "Miss Tsukasa! I must tell you that they've rejoined!"

Tsukasa nodded solemnly at this outburst. Arien straightened up and replaced her halo to float in its usual place.

"You should also know then, Miss Tsukasa, that Heliopolis and Lunapolis have not been deserted entirely. There are still a few dark angels there." Arien said, bowing. "I must be off."

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"Okay, so this can of crap can move still." Ra said. Her hair was longer now, but only very slightly. It came to her shoulders and her eyes were more transparent and gray. "So, who cares? I have nothing to do with this."

Jet had been stunned at Sadie's reaction to everything. The last two years in high school had evidently calmed her ferocious spirit and brought her back down to Earth. Of course, this came at a very high price, and it was called Mirllyne. Most of the others had managed to stay the same, possibly save Lily and Tasha. Anya had dyed her hair brown and wore contacts to make her eyes dark blue-green, and had taken to the name Lily. Tasha was heading into her senior year of college and had a small; white fox named Luke that was with her constantly.

They were in the air, with the 'fasten seat belt sign' on…wait, wrong thing! Most of the group was getting reacquainted with the layout of the ship. Mirllyne was wandering around, explaining to whoever asked about what was going on.

"Well, idiot, what the hell does an angel look like?" Eleanor finally demanded. Mirllyne slunk away without another word. She walked off to the control room to find Albert, Lily, Deak, and Sadie all present. As the door shut behind Mirllyne, it opened just as fast to admit Ra. She carried her precious sword as if someone were to steal it from her any second, and behind her followed Epsilon.

"Elle posed a good question," Ra said. "What exactly are we supposed to be looking for? What the hell do angels look like?"

Epsilon and Mirllyne's eyes met briefly. "Angels look like normal humans, and sometimes have strange hair colors." Mirllyne said. "And hey, what's that?"

She pointed a finger out the wide window. There was a small island below them, maybe only a mile and a half across. There were very few trees, and flying from one of them was a long piece of golden-yellow cloth. To all but two in the room, this site was all too familiar. Lily and Albert sat down to land the Dolphin on the tiny island.

"Hey, what's with this?" Tie demanded, locking the door into an open position. "Why are we landing here?"

"Because, we may have found another cyborg." Deak explained impatiently. Tie's eyes widened considerably and she nodded. "Now shut up and get everyone else, this could be a trap."

Tie harumphed rather loudly and stalked off with Luke in tow. With a gentle bump, they touched down to the island. Within seconds, Joe, Francoise, Ra, Pandora, and Epona were out on the beach. The sand was starkly white beneath their feet. Epona managed to get to the tree where the cloth was tied first.

As a matter of fact, it wasn't just a piece of cloth. It was a cape, tied around a girl's neck, fluttering in a breeze. The girl's short black hair was also flying around her, but her face showed no signs of knowing where she was or what she was doing there. Her hands were bound to the thin tree with thick metal, her legs brought up to her chest, and her feet bound together. She wore a familiar blue and gold uniform.

"You pathetic fools!" A loud feminine voice called. Seconds later, a girl with short ocean-blue hair jumped down from the top of the tree. Her eyes were shimmering yellow, and she wore a denim miniskirt, a pale yellow tank top, and thick black boots. Very, very pale blue wings hung from her back, as if they had been part of a costume. "She won't awaken, oh no. She's under a spell."

"And you think you're who, remind me?" Ra demanded, showing Soul Eater. The person cackled again.

"I am Xiaka, angel of water!" Xiaka shouted, calling waves up behind her. "And if you want to have any hope of awakening this stupid girl, you had best think of a way to defeat me!"

Seconds later, a tremendous wave was launched at them. Riko bounded out of the Dolphin in time to block part of the huge wave. Most of it still crashed, and moments later, Poseidon was also out.

"You bitch, they picked the wrong idiot for this job." A new voice said. Xiaka turned her focus to the girl tied to the tree, then took a large breath in. "Did Xiaka forget that I _love _water, AND IT **HELPS** ME?"

Hardly a second later, the girl had vanished from the tree. She reappeared next to Albert, laughing. Xiaka roared in fury and sent another wave out at them. This time, however, Poseidon and Riko were set to go. Poseidon blocked the wave with one of his own, and Riko tried to force the water back. Xiaka laughed ferociously and sent more out.

Like last time, no one was about to give up. Ra jumped and swiped at Xiaka, who was far too occupied to notice. Mirllyne and Lily, who were now engaged in conversation, climbed out of the ship to find a fight going full force. Lily swung her hammer around from her back and prepared to launch a missile, while Mirllyne slid quietly back into the Dolphin.

"OHOHOHO! MIRLLYNE!" Xiaka roared, directing a watery hand straight into the Dolphin and yanked out Mirllyne. Mirllyne squeezed her eyes shut, clenched Excalibur, and prepared herself for the worst. "Well well, little miss Mirllyne, it turns out you _are_ with them! Isn't this handy?"

"YEAH, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S MY HAND!" The new girl shouted triumphantly, and seconds later, a clay-like hand shot out of the ground and began to slap Xiaka across the face. The water hand promptly dropped Mirllyne and sent itself speeding toward the new girl, trying to repel her.

After a sound pummeling, the arm dove back underground and surfaced to reattach itself to the girl's shoulder. She smiled and Xiaka touched her feet to the white sand. A black helicopter began to make noise close by. Xiaka looked back to it and smiled.

"It seems as though I have to cut my time with you short," Xiaka laughed. "But we'll meet again, I can promise you that!"

She vanished and all that was left was the sound of the rocking waves. The new girl turned to face Albert and smiled. Her hair fell roughly half an inch below her shoulders, and her eyes were so brown that they were black.

"Hi, I'm Enx!" She said happily. "Oh…you wouldn't happen to have any regular water, would you? The water on this island is a bit too salty for my taste."

Albert blinked and shook his head. "_What_? You drank _salt water_?"

"Yes, I drank salt water." Enx said, now sounding agitated. "Of course I didn't. I'm not stupid! I absorbed it. And how do I know you're not working for them?"

"Would we have tried to hurt her if we were?" Albert asked. "Come on, let's get going."

So the group out on the beach trooped back into the Dolphin, Enx hanging behind. Lily, being the last one to have entered, turned around to face her.

"Aren't you coming? You're welcome to." Lily said kindly before sinking back down. Enx ran forward to join the rest of the group.

"We have a problem," Selene announced. "We have to leave for a while to get some stuff taken care of. Okay?"

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Joe left from the conversation with Enx to get some quiet in his room. As the door slid open, he stepped in and shook his head. He took a look at the bed again. Just as he thought, the red sheet was pulled taught and the white pillows were fluffed. But something was there that shouldn't have been.

"Bonjour! Your name ees Joe, oui?" A tiny voice asked. Joe rubbed his eyes and sat down on the end of the bed. At the other end sat a tiny little girl. She stood up and walked over to him. "Your name _ees _Joe, oui?"

She was perhaps five inches tall with inky black hair and hazel eyes. Over her right eye, a circle with a cross was tattooed. Over the left, an 'S' was drawn and a line cut across the center, with two circles (one above and one below the line). These were drawn in black ink. Her long-sleeved black shirt had a single white musical note on it, and she had on a long black skirt. Her tiny feet were protected by black slippers. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and though most of the hair was falling out, she seemed not to care about it.

"Yes, my name is Joe. And who are you?" Joe replied, looking down to the girl.

"I am D.S.," The girl introduced herself. Her voice had an unmistakable French accent in it. "I was sent to make sure zat you don't git eento any trouble."

"But why would I…?" Joe began. D.S. held up a hand to him.

"Zee White Anzel and Black Ghost Organizations are not just after your precious belongeengs, zey are after your lives!" D.S. said. Joe blinked at the tiny girl standing on his bed. He held out a hand, wondering if she'd climb onto it. She did, and he raised it to eye level. She, by that time, was seated comfortably in his palm.

"You don't mind me asking, but you are French, right?" Joe asked. D.S. nodded. "And why, exactly do they want to kill us?"

"Joe?" Sadie asked outside. The door slid open and she stepped in. "I heard voices…were you talking to yourself?"

Joe shook his head as if this girl were his mother. "You mean there isn't anyone else in here?"

Sadie gave him a puzzled look and walked over to him. She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "You don't seem to be coming down with anything…are you taking any drugs?"

Joe, who had abruptly throw D.S. onto the bed in confusion once the door had been opened, looked to find the miniature girl.

"Zey can't see me," D.S. explained. "Only you can."

"No, don't worry about it." Joe said to both Sadie and D.S.. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine. I'll see you later, once Chang gets around to cooking."

Sadie eyed him once again, then turned and left the room.

"D.S.?" Joe asked. The tiny girl was now seated on his shoulder.

"I must be leaving, Joe." She said. "But we shall see each uzzer soon, I do 'ope."

Without another word, the tiny girl vanished.

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Well, not bad for a first chapter, ne? I hope you enjoy it half as much as I enjoyed writing it, and leave a review or flame telling me what was crap or not! We are sorry about D.S…..we couldn't resist after French…you must understand…see you next time!


	3. Broken Destiny

Yay! I hope you all enjoy reading this story as much as I love writing it. The plot gets deeper with every page I go through (whether in my notebooks or on MW). This chapter really gets the real object of this story going, aside from making it sound like a grown-up version of The Cyborg Children. But now that I've thought about it, it's gotten to be much better without 0021. Reminder! I don't own Cyborg 009!

"Blah" – spoken verbally  
(Blah) – spoken mentally  
_Blah _– personal thoughts

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Riprendere

Chapter Two: Broken Destiny

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"Fuck off, Arien." Xiaka snapped. She jumped out of the helicopter and began toward Tsukasa's chambers. A boy, however, interrupted her as she pissed her merry way down the hall.

"Xiaka, we need to talk." A boy said. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. "You, I hope, confirmed that Mirllyne was with them?"

"Pierre, I strongly advise that you get the hell away," Xiaka said. "I'm in a shitty mood, so don't mess with me."

Pierre grabbed her by the shoulder. "You're coming with me, Xiaka. I'll call Tsukasa and postpone your meeting with her. Right now, _we _need to have a long conversation."

Xiaka turned and looked him straight in the colbat eyes. She reluctantly sighed and followed Pierre back to his office. It was a large room, though not as vast as Tsukasa's office was. The walls were plainly black, and one wall was a window showing the underwater ocean, like Tsukasa's. Pierre sat down behind his desk, and Xiaka followed suit and sat in the only other chair in the room.

"So…Mirllyne is indeed working with them?" Pierre asked. Xiaka nodded. "As are the children of the shrines, and all of Generation Zero?"

"Yes, you bastard. How many times do we have to repeat ourselves?" Xiaka demanded, now idly playing with the water outside the glass. "They're all there…all but Hope."

-&-&-&-

Joe lay awake in his bed. Jet was snoring loudly, hardly two feet away from him in the dark, and making the impression that a rather large beast was breathing close by. But that wasn't the reason Joe was still awake. The reason was D.S.. Who was she? What did her name stand for? Where had she come from (well, he knew she was from France), and whom was she working for? Why was she helping him? How come no one else could see her?

Questions whirled around in his mind. Finally, when he could no longer take Jet's snoring or the pressure of thinking, he stood up and left for the kitchen. The Dolphin was hardly lit and this time of night, and whoever was piloting had to be on serious coffee and sugar every ten minutes. As he walked in, he found he was not alone.

"Morning, Joe." Mirllyne said. She, like himself, was in pajamas. She held a steaming mug, and the way the room smelled, it was probably tea. "Why are you up?"

"Mirllyne, did you ever know a person named 'D.S.?'" Joe asked. He didn't know why; it just came out of him. Mirllyne cocked her head to the side. She took a sip of her tea.

"Absolutely not." She said. She giggled. "Well, I'm going to try and go to bed. See you later in the morning, Joe."

Leaving the mug behind, Mirllyne rose and departed from the room. Joe sat down in the seat she had recently vacated, and found it warm. The mug was nearly drained; with only the lumpy tea leaves at the bottom.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone else was awake. Hello, Joe."

It was Pandora. She looked as if she'd awoken only recently from a vivid nightmare and was still thinking about it. She sat down in the seat across from him, seized Mirllyne's mug, and drank the remainder.

"I'm sorry. Did you want to be alone?" Pandora asked. She was extremely refined. Her icy eyes looked across to him. "Or did want you try and ask something?"

Joe blinked at her. "Have you ever known a little girl named D.S.?"

Pandora placed a hand on her head. "No, I don't believe I ever have. I'm sorry that I can't help you."

Joe smiled. "It's okay. Do you know why Mirllyne is so secretive about angels? Whenever someone asks her about their appearance or mannerisms, she finds someone else to talk to and doesn't answer."

This time, Pandora's eyes were as wide as hubcaps. She rose and filled the kettle with water and put it on to boil. As she sat back down, she looked to Joe.

"I know who she is. But she would murder me if I told you a word more on the matter." Pandora said in a hushed voice. Joe had to lean in to hear what she was saying. "But, in other matters, there seems to be a reason why she latched onto Sadie. I know Sadie and Francoise have never been the best of friends…"

Pandora silenced herself. "I've told you enough. Probably too much. I'm going to go to the bathroom and back to bed."

She, like Mirllyne, rose and left the kitchen. Joe felt the need to urgently talk to D.S. now that Pandora had brought up why Mirllyne was around. As if the tiny girl had read his mind, D.S. fell onto the table. Her hair was now tied in a loose braid and she wore pajamas.

"Bonjour, Joe. Comment allez-vous?" D.S. muttered drowsily. She stood up, upturned his palm, and laid down in it. "You called moi for a reason. What ees eet?"

"Do you know why Mirllyne is here? And what Pandora knows about it?" Joe asked. He looked to his palm to find the five-inch girl asleep. The tea kettle began to steam, awakening D.S. once more.

"Oui…I know why." D.S. said. "But eet would be best eef I deen't tell you quite yet."

With a small flash of light, she vanished once more. Joe was left even more puzzled from before. There was something being kept from him, and from a lot of other people too. But now wasn't the time. Now it was time to be asleep. He'd ask someone in the morning.

-&-&-&-

"Whatever genius can make cyborgs can afford lighting, can't they?" One girl asked another as they walked down the dark halls of the base.

"Yeah. What did we cost to remake?" The second asked. They had never seen what the other looked like; from the moment they'd woken up, they'd been in the dark. "This looks like the place, 0024. Shall we go inside?"

0024 nodded in the darkness and punched in an access code. For the first time in a long time, the two girls saw what they looked like and what they were wearing.

0024 had long, dark brown hair tied back into a braid that reached to the middle of her back and brown-green eyes. She wore a navy blue trenchcoat (had she been able to see the back, there was a large baby-blue gothic butterfly on it), a teal blue sleeveless turtleneck, a navy blue mini-skort over tight black capri pants, and knee-high combat boots bound with bright blue laces and decorative silver buckles.

The other girl was a little shorter and looked a few years younger. She too had dark brown hair, but her eyes were instead dark brown. Her clothes consisted of a black zip hoodie, a pale purple tank top, and dark blue jeans.

"Ah, 0024 and 0026. So nice of you to come." Pierre said. "As you know, we have arranged a false alarm to attract the cyborgs. There, you will capture 003 and return her here."

"We're going alone?" 0024 asked.

"Of course not." Pierre answered. "We're sending 0037 and 0049 with you. 0018 and 0020 will be waiting there for your arrival. I trust you understand how to operate these crafts?"

-&-&-&-

"I have nothing precious to me." Mirllyne said. "Wait…only one. Excalibur is my prized possession, and it's not really even _mine_. But that's another story for another time."

The girl smiled and played with the hilt of Excalibur. It was a beautiful thing in the light, especially with its strange crystals.

"So you really are a cyborg?" Lily asked calmly. "Then you're like us…I can't believe this…"

With that, she rose and left the room. Omega smiled sadly. The room was now deserted except for Mirllyne and Omega. Mirllyne laid Excalibur down on the table and sighed.

"How long," Omega began, "Are you going to hide the truth from them? It's not going to be long until the angels find you and tell them what you are. Would you rather tell them yourself or have them find out in a crueler way? The choice is yours, Mirllyne. We all know, as do the children of the shrines and Sadie."

Mirllyne lowered her eyes. "Omega, do you know something…anything…about Polaris? What happened to her?"

Omega stood and shook her head. "There are still stars in the sky. You can keep wishing, Mirllyne, but the wish won't come true until the end. I'll see you later."

Mirllyne was left alone in the living room with only the hilt of her sword as company. She picked it up and held it as if to fight an invisible opponent. A three-foot blade shot out of it, catching the light just as the other crystals did. Mirllyne smiled at it and cradled it in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked, poking his head in. Mirllyne barely had time to gather her thoughts before she realized another person was in the room with her once again. "Wow…is that what your sword really looks like? I thought it was broken…"

"No, Excalibur isn't broken." Mirllyne said, recalling the blade. She stood up. "And didn't you say that we were going to see what we could find out?"

"And why are you so happy about it?" Joe asked, keen about her reaction.

"Because, I get to show you what I like to wear in public. Tell the guys to tape their noses shut."

-&-&-&-

Half an hour later, Mirllyne breezed out of the bedroom she now shared with Sadie, Lily and Epona. Jet and Albert were walking by, having a choppy conversation. Then their eyes caught Mirllyne. Normally, she wasn't much of anything. But in what she was wearing now, she could have bid herself off for a couple thousand dollars.

She wore the absolute sexiest thing she could have found – tight black leather and silver buckles. Her jacket, which she carried in her arm, had buckles at the elbows and fell to her knees. At her wrists, it belled. It buckled six times across the front and a high collar with a buckle around it. What she wore without the coat was just as stunning. It covered from her neck down to her knees, a cross of black belts with silver buckles looped around her waist with the hilt of Excalibur hanging from them. At her knees, her boots began. The heels were only an inch and a half high and were thick. Instead of having her hair tied into its usual pigtails, it was tied an inch from her head in a high ponytail, and fell to her waist. The shirt covered her shoulders, then cut off. The neck came down to her chest, then came up in a cross around her neck, buckles and all.

"…Mirllyne?" Albert asked. She turned to look at him.

"Yes?" She answered. "I told Joe to _warn_ you! And no, I was never a porn star. Get all the dirty thoughts out of your heads, 'cause I don't think Tirzah and Lily would be very happy if they caught you gawking at me."

Mirllyne continued on her way to the control room, putting her coat on meanwhile. Jet and Albert eventually managed to turn around and continue in the opposite way. As they did, they continued their conversation at a much slower pace. Seconds later, two entities swung down in front of them and knocked them off balance.

"Peace! Come along, boys, we thing we found something good this time." Tirzah said, jumping down over Jet.

-&-&-&-

While everyone else was in the control room, planning on investigating a possible Black Ghost scheme, one lone girl sat in the living room and working on her summer homework for college. As she sang quietly along to Hikari (the Japanese version of Simple and Clean), two figures walked through the door.

"Make me look like her." Both Pandora and Francoise demanded.

"I would like to look like Francoise for a simple reason," Pandora said. Sadie sighed and looked up at the two.

"Okay, fine." Seconds later, Pandora was an exact replica of Francoise. "Now leave me alone."

They left, talking happily once again.

"Would you _please _explain why the hell we're doing this?" Ra demanded. She looked highly reminiscent of a clash between Kingdom Hearts and Xenosaga with brown hair to top it off.

"Because," Panthos said, "What else would we be doing? Watching Pandora and Poseidon swap spit?"

"We are all laughing _so _hard, Panthos." Pandora said. Panthos did a double take when he saw two of the same girl in front of him. Both laughed. He rubbed his eyes and looked once more at the pair.

"Pandora insisted upon it being her that looked like me," Francoise explained. "Though I am still uncertain why."

Panthos looked to Fate. Fate looked to Epona. Epona nodded. They, at least, knew what the hell was going on, unlike nearly everyone else in the room.

"We're doing it to see if we can find out more about what happened," Fate said. "The main difference is this time, we can help you. I'm pretty sure that Tsukasa won't have…"

"How the hell do you know the leader's name?" Ra demanded, fingering a gun at her hip.

"How the hell do we know _you're_ not working with them?" Mirllyne demanded right back to the crossover. Ra recoiled and shot them both a nasty look. However, this only raised more of an impression that she'd hopped straight out of a video game from her PS2, ribbed sleeveless turtleneck and cameos and all. The entire room, as a matter of fact, looked like an MMORPG.

And little did they know that this was so very true. Half these players were not what they appeared to be. One had a guardian looking after them, one had the devil at their back, four were to be torn apart, and the rest were in for rude awakenings.

"Look over yonder, cowpokes," Eleanor said sarcastically. "The rodeo's started without us. What a damned shame."

-&-&-&-

"Hey, there they are!" An anxious girl with blue-streaked light brown hair exclaimed. "Arien, they're coming right now!"

Arien, when not locked in the labyrinth of darkness, wore a black knee-length dress that tied around her neck to serve as straps and brown ankle-high boots. Her wings were out on display and her halo was above her head. No one was around this place to look at the interesting gaggle of people thrown randomly together.

First of all, there was 0024 and 0026. They looked strange to start it off. Then came 0020 and 0018, standing together and looking like brother and sister. After that, it was 0037 and 0049. To top it all off, there was Arien looking out of place in her dress. Each readied their weapon of choice as…

"HEY YOU! FUCK OFF MY PLANET!" Ra sounded off, pulling out her two biggest guns and firing full speed ahead with them. Arien smiled at the game-crazed seventeen-year-old tomboy and held out her own hand. The bullets continued to fly, and she was prepared. But none of the opposing gaggle was.

"And poof!" Arien exclaimed. The bullets froze in their places and fell helplessly to the ground.

"That was definitely_ the _worst opening to a battle ever," Panthos said. "But forget that."

Seconds later, illusions of beastly creatures broke out from Panthos's hands. They weren't real, but having them cast from the illusion threads made them look just as bad as the real thing. Tie paused to watch for a second as he waved his hands around to sustain the illusions for a while longer.

(You communicate this way, do you not?) Fate asked. (If you do, then you can hear me. Fire at Arien and let her freeze your bullets for you. Two or three of you aim for her around her back, and the rest pick another cyborg.)

It felt as if no time had passed. These battle plans were formulated as if Fate had known what was going to occur. And going on what she'd told them, she probably had.

(You don't know what you're dealing with!) Mirllyne warned. (Fire on laser or something like that! Use your powers! Use acceleration! USE WHAT SHE LACKS!)

Apparently, this message got through loud and clear. If Arien was indeed an angel, then she wouldn't have an accelerator. This caught on fast. Arien was firing ice. She was the angel of ice. She didn't have fire. She didn't have water power. She didn't have transformation. She didn't have super-strength.

Four accelerators went off and Mirllyne began to relax. Omega appeared beside her and laughed.

"You think that just because you can do that, they'll believe you?" Omega remarked. "I may not have those things, but…"

"Put a sock in it," Mirllyne said happily. "It's my turn."

Mirllyne raced forward to meet her own doom. Arien turned and noticed her coming.

"Ah, Mirllyne. Why so angry? Was it something I did?" Arien asked sweetly, sending a swirl of ice crystals toward Mirllyne. Mirllyne held a hand in front of her and a shield of fire formed around her to protect her from the ice.

"I would have expected more from you!" Arien laughed. "You have a sword and all you can do is shoot fireballs! You're pathetic!"

Mirllyne clenched the hilt of Excalibur on her belt.

(Whatever happened to 0021?) Panthos asked. (She was Mary Sue last time. And what do we get? A sword-slinging fire-breathing bitch.)

(Panthos, STFU. I'm trying to sleep.) Sadie's voice clapped through his head. Mirllyne didn't seem very happy about this either and sent a rather large fireball flying toward him full speed.

(Now be quiet and stay outta my way.) Mirllyne snapped. The sword grew from the hilt and Mirllyne held it out to face Arien.

"If that's what you want, I'll LET YOU HAVE IT!" Arien shouted in reply. A flash of blue bounced around her from her feet up and her entire outfit changed. Her hair was now in two long French braids, decked with ice crystals. Her dress had become a sleeveless icy blue one and translucent white fabric graced from her elbows down. From her knees to her feet were thick black boots with icy crystals growing out of them. Her wings were now glazed with thin icy-white material. Multicolored tattoos stretched across her entire body.

"Let's do it." Arien said. Her voice was low and dangerous. Ice whips flew from her fingers. Mirllyne twirled Excalibur and deflected the ice.

(This could take a while…) Omega said sadly.

"Never mind this." Mirllyne said. "What did you come here for?"

"I came for 003!" Arien snapped. "Now hand her over and I won't force 0024 to use her favorite weapon on you."

Pandora ran forward. "Take me, then. They have no use for me."

Arien smiled. She flicked a hand and 0037 and 0049 seized her by the arms. Pandora cast Francoise and the rest a look that clearly read 'follow my lead and you'll be fine.' Or at least, it was something like that.

"Let's get going! The sooner we get her back, the sooner we get Hope!" Arien called. Pandora's face paled and flashed to absolute fury. She jumped off the ground and swung 0037 and 0049 down and they were knocked out. 0024 blew into a little whistle and giant blue monarch butterflies came flying out of thin air.

"So, you aren't 003…are you…" Arien said, seizing Pandora's neck.

"No! I am! I promise!" Pandora cried. Even her voice was the same.

"That who's that over there?" Arien asked with a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"My sister." Pandora answered. "Night, Arien."

With a snap of her fingers, Pandora knocked out all the opposing cyborgs and Arien. They vanished and Pandora gave a sigh of relief. In seconds, she looked like herself once more. Panic had set into her features.

"Let's go back. And get away from here." Pandora said.

-&-&-&-

Tsukasa and Zaffiel were awaiting Arien's less than graceful return. Arien was swearing up and down in every language she knew at Pandora.

"Need you be so loud?" Zaffiel asked. "I don't think they can hear you in Tibet."

Arien kicked her. "The message is out, dammit! What the hell else do you want me to do?"

"Calm down, for starters. Then you can sit down." Tsukasa said politely. Arien gathered herself and sat down in the black swivel chair. "There. Relax, Arien, that was just to get them warned for it. Now Pandora will be freaking out and defense will be low."

-&-&-&-

Joe lay in bed once more wondering about the events that had occurred that day. Why had Pandora directly lied? He slid further toward sleep. Pandora and Francoise did have stunning similarities, such as both being 003 (well, Pandora was –300), but did that matter?

Finally, a black curtain draped across his vision. But it wasn't dark for very long. After a minute or so, an indirect light began to shine. He heard far-off laughter, as if he were in a vast mansion. The giggling drew closer, but the light continued to shine dimly in another room. It was almost like he was in another person's dream. The giggling now sounded as if it were only a few feet away now.

"I'm so happy you made it tonight!" A female voice said happily. Three female figures walked into the room. All three wore red silk nightdresses. The one who had spoken had a long blonde braid running down her back and icy blue eyes. The girl next to her had a sheet of silvery hair that fell to her waist and clear, bright blue eyes.

From here, Joe was able to make some bizarre guesses at the first two girls. The first girl looked like Pandora without a haircut and cool-colored clothes on. The silver-haired girl was obviously Selene. As the last of the three girls stepped into enough light for Joe to see her features, his heart skipped a few beats. Her hair was honey blonde, flipped out at the ends, and was held by a red ribbon. Her eyes were like two shimmering aquamarines as they caught the light.

It was Francoise.

The three sat down on an embroidered couch. Pandora turned to her companions. Briefly, the dream was interrupted by a flash of white light. An image of a sad-looking girl holding her wooden box came to him. This was the Pandora he knew, except wearing a knee-length skirt. The first dream returned.

"So, Selene, is it true?" Pandora asked. "Are you planning to marry Endymion?"

Selene blushed lightly. "Yes, it is. How, by the way, did you know?"

"Eos told us." Pandora explained. "Pandora, did you decide to marry Prometheus?"

Joe was confused. Why had Pandora called Francoise by her own name? This dream was getting stranger every second he stayed asleep. Francoise seemed to react to this name, however.

"Oh…yes. I'm going to move away to live with him." Francoise said. Pandora sighed. It was obvious that this was not the same Pandora Joe knew. This was probably her mother, or something of that sort.

"I still find it strange how we're not related in any way, and yet we are so very similar to one another." Pandora said. "I'm going to miss you when you move away. Will we ever get to meet him?"

Francoise nodded happily. "But of course! He's coming to visit us tomorrow. I know you'll love him, Pandora. He's very kind.

"We won't take him." Selene promised. "The two of us already have boyfriends. And besides, our taste is different."

The dream was interrupted once again. This time, it was an image of a glittering silver city with the moon draped in the background. In front stood Selene, Luna, Diana, Artemis and Umbra. What the hell was going on? Was Sadie doing this for the hell of it?

The three burst into giggles again. Judging by the way she looked at them, Selene was the eldest. No one else seemed to be in the house with them.

Joe thought it was strange that none of them had noticed him yet. As soon as he had gotten the thought through his mind, Francoise's head snapped up as if to search for someone. She looked straight at Joe for a few seconds, then turned her head away. She made no movement to tell the others. It seemed like she hadn't even seen Joe standing in front of her. He took a step closer.

The dream went completely blank. In the distance, he heard someone calling his name urgently. But it was a dream, so did he have to answer to it? Another image slide show began. The first image was of a blazing bronze and gold city with Apollo, Helios and Eos in front of it. Then it was a shot of Epona is a tropical garden. The images stopped flowing and…

"We're gonna have to do something drastic soon if this doesn't stop!" A worried, anxious voice screamed. She was far away…Joe wondered if that was part of the dream or if it was really happening. It was no matter, anyway. He now stood on a dirt driveway with a huge mansion behind him. There were clouds of dust and carriages all around him. A carriage was pulling up and Francoise was dashing from the mansion's porch. As the door swung open, Joe froze in his spot instead of walking to get a closer look.

_He _had just stepped out of the carriage. If he wasn't dreaming, he wouldn't have believed what he was watching. But he wasn't so certain about the dream part of this now that so many people he knew were in it. What was doing this? Was Black Ghost trying to lure him toward doing something? No, that was impossible, Black Ghost was gone.

After kissing briefly, Francoise introduced dream-Joe as Prometheus. Prometheus politely kissed Pandora and Selene's hands. Francoise hugged both her friends, then took something from one of her many bags.

"I want you to have this, Pandora," Francoise said. It was a small wooden box with a golden latch. Pandora took it from Francoise's hands and eagerly opened it…

The dream vanished.

"JOE! JOE!" The girl's shrieking voice was drawing closer by the second. There were several other voices talking at the same time in worried tones…loud blipping noises sounded all over…he opened his eyes to find a starkly white Pandora sitting on his chest, watching him.

"Oh my God," She said breathlessly. She looked at Joe as if something horrible had just occurred. "What the hell is going on?"

Pandora's voice sounded horribly shaken. As Joe looked around, he saw more of the people on board looking terrified: Fate, Jet, Albert, Sadie, Lily, Tirzah…but where was Francoise?

"Pandora…" Joe said slowly. Pandora's focus returned to him. "I was having this strange dream…there was a woman who looked like you…and one who looked like Francoise…and Selene was there too…"

"Joe, what happened in this dream?" Pandora asked, getting off of him. She grabbed him to sit up as Lily put pillows behind him.

"Well…you, Francoise, and Selene were all in a house, talking. Francoise was telling you how she was moving away to live with Prometheus. Then it changed and I heard someone screaming…"

"That wasn't a bizarre dream, Joe. You were looking at what happened thousands of years ago." Pandora said. "Do you know what was happening?"

Joe shook his head.

"You and Francoise were dead."

-&-&-&-&-

HELL YEAH! This is probably one of the single most important events in the story. I'm getting so used to writing character death, it doesn't even seem strange anymore. What is strange is all the stuff I have…I'm gonna be dead by the next semester…


	4. Metronome

This story was extensively researched! I did use an encyclopedia of all these different myths that I'm bringing together, including Selene's seduction of Endymion. The story of Pandora is really quite interesting, if you ever get the chance to read it. And I'm not just using Greek and Roman mythology in future chapters, too. I found Norse myths…just wait and see! ((laughs evilly)) I don't own any of the myths or Cyborg 009!

Mika is **FOLLOWING CANON LAW **– the world must be ending.

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Three: Metronome

-&-&-&-&-

After the ordeal was over, each person on the Dolphin was given a watch period to stay in the infirmary with Joe and Francoise. Since no one could be certain what had happened, this was instantly put into effect.

Joe could not sleep for the life of himself, not even if someone paid him to. The soft bleeping noises emitting from two machines (hooked up to himself and Francoise) had already lulled the two other occupants of the room to sleep. Sadie was curled up in an armchair that she had brought in for herself, her head resting on her crossed arms. Her face looked vexed with worry, and she looked much older than seventeen. Francoise murmured something in her sleep then rolled over to face the opposite wall.

Joe sighed. The sound caused Sadie to shift and open her eyes. Something was lurking in her eyes that Joe wasn't used to seeing again: it was fear. As soon as she saw him, the look vanished and she smiled. It wasn't a very happy smile.

"You okay?" Sadie asked. Her voice was tired. She sat up and rubbed her eyes beneath her glasses. "You look fine."

Joe returned the small grin. "I'm okay. Just a little nervous about what happened. Pandora didn't explain it very well. Could you?"

Sadie nodded and sat up in her chair cross-legged. "You weren't the only one who was awake that late. Most of us were, wondering why Arien and Mirllyne were so connected. Francoise had been the first of us to fall asleep, then Fate, Mirllyne, and it went on. You were about halfway down the list. After God knows how long we talked, we heard Francoise screaming in her sleep. Pandora ran in and got her into the infirmary. As Jet was walking by your room, he heard you talking in your sleep. At first, he didn't find it odd, but when he went back, you were gasping for air. So he brought you.

"Putting you two in the same room didn't seem like such a good idea. As soon as you were in, Francoise stopped breathing. When Jet finally got it through his head to put you down, the exact same thing happened to you. I trust you can put the puzzle together from there?"

Joe nodded. What was going on? He didn't want to ask Sadie. She had no idea. "Does anyone know what happened?"

Sadie shook her head. "ISV says that she's going to see if she can trace the dream in the morning. Pandora's stalking around, too scared to sleep. Oh yeah, Omega wants you two to stay here for a while."

She stopped and coughed a little. "Pardon."

"What happened to you?" Joe asked. Sadie looked at him.

"Exactly what do you mean?"

"Why aren't you so…crazy?"

"I went into such a hard course that I had no real time to myself. I had to do schoolwork all night and go to evening classes for theory of knowledge. My sisters entered middle school and I had to help them. Life picked up at an alarming rate for me…and now I'm turning eighteen and leaving for college."

Joe watched as she curled up again. She laid her crossed arms on the arm of the chair, then her head on her arms. She didn't remove her glasses, as if she knew she'd be awake again soon.

"Don't worry about keeping me up." Sadie said. "You can go to sleep or stay awake. Either one is perfectly fine with me."

She rubbed her eyes again and closed them. She looked so worn out. Joe felt wrong to keep her awake. He lay back into his own pillows and closed his eyes.

-&-&-&-

"Tell me again _exactly _what the hell that was about." Tsukasa said. In front of her sat an angel with dark chocolate hair and golden eyes. Her dress was very simple: only a golden shirt and a long brown skirt. Her hair was tied in a set of pigtails.

"I still don't know," The girl protested, playing with her halo. Tsukasa played with this girl's wings. Nirine had interrupted her and Zaffiel. The wings were very pale brown.

"You do know. Why else would you have burst in on us?" Tsukasa implored. She was now stroking Nirine's wings. Nirine felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. She knew that Zaffiel and Tsukasa were in love.

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW, BITCH!" Nirine shouted. Tsukasa looked into the angel's eyes.

"Are you jealous? I can make you very happy. Follow me." Tsukasa said, still petting the soft wings. Nirine's deeply tanned skin turned flaming red.

"Tsu-tsukasa? What do you mean?" Nirine asked.

"I have some impatient angels that will not work until they get what they want." Tsukasa said coldly. She pressed a key code into a door and it opened. Inside was a content-looking angel.

Her hair was light pink and her wings were the color of red roses. Her eyes were perfectly green, and she wore a pink tube top, a micromini skirt, knee-high pink stockings, and red shoes. She laughed. Nirine gulped. This wasn't real; this wasn't happening…not her…please…

"I believe this is what you wanted?" Tsukasa asked, shoving Nirine into the room.

"Oh yes, Miss Tsukasa!" The girl said.

"Don't stop until she agrees to tell us what she did. We'll be watching." Tsukasa said. The door slid shut. Nirine began to sob. She knew who this was. This was Fiella, the angel of romance. Fiella approached Nirine.

"You heard her. You're mine until you agree to her terms." Fiella said contently, "Come now, let's begin…

-&-&-&-

"You're not doing us any good asleep," ISV's far-off voice said to a sleeping Joe. "It's time to wake up, sleepy bones. Don't make me wake you up."

Joe's eyelids parted slowly. ISV beamed down at him.

"Good! Now that the two of you are awake, we can get to work seeing what caused those dreams and reactions to them." ISV said pleasantly. Next to her, Francoise was sitting up and smiling shyly at him. Sadie was still sound asleep in the chair.

"Hold still and think about the dream," ISV said in a calm voice. Joe closed his eyes and racked his brain for details. Francoise did the same thing. ISV sat down on Sadie and began to watch the scraps that both of them were remembering.

"PAAAAAAAAANNNNDDDOOORRRAAAAAAA!" ISV shouted. In seconds, Pandora was watching the lengthening streams of memory with ISV.

"I've seen enough." Pandora said.

"You can stop now." ISV announced. Both dreams stopped flowing. "If you two had been dreaming separate things, we would have seen two different streams. But we didn't. You two had the same dream. Or should I say, memory."

"And we aren't even past breakfast," Panthos said in passing. "Yet Pandora already has it all figured out. So, can you explain the plot so far?"

For now, we'll just say that Panthos was shoved into a very uncomfortable position.

-&-&-&-

"Tell us again?" Enx asked. She was still miffed on this whole 'Joe and Francoise existed in the past and blah blah blah' thing.

"For the last time. Joe and Francoise were Prometheus and Pandora. Francoise set something off when she re-opened the box, therefore causing the past to repeat itself. If we're correct," Epona paused, "All of us could be in a lot more danger than just loosing things precious to us."

Fate was caught having lengthening conversations with Mirllyne while they thought no one was watching them. On one such occasion when Enx found them, she had almost succeeded in killing Mirllyne and was well on her way with Fate. Poseidon had been going by at the time and only stopped Enx once Fate had screamed 'STOP!' for the three hundredth time.

Is this very relevant? The betas say no. Mika says no. Joe says crap. Sadie just walked away. So yes, it is! Now, let's continue, shall we?

Joe was now walking along the hallways, trying to get the general idea of what was going on out of his head. Pandora had only hammered it in, what, a couple thousand times? 'If you had the power to change the world…would you do it?'.

He couldn't answer.

As he continued to walk, he heard someone singing. It was Japanese. Though he wasn't used to using the voice's dialect (her accent was evident), it was unmistakable Japanese.

"Shizuka ni deguchi ni...tatte," She sang. Joe knew this song. It was that song that Sadie was always singing. Hikari. Light. As he rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, he found the named girl singing the named song.

"I didn't know you knew Japanese." Joe said, rather bluntly. Sadie stopped singing instantly.

"I don't. I've always loved that song, and I've memorized the lyrics. And why are you out here?" Sadie answered. She smiled at him. It was more of a real smile than he'd seen only the previous night. "You aren't missing anything, trust me."

-&-&-&-

"FINE! FINE! I'LL TELL YOU!" Nirine sobbed. A frightening Fiella reluctantly drew off of her. "If you're watching, Tsukasa, get your fucking ass down here!"

Within a minute, Zaffiel was standing with them in the room. Her composure was the same as always, but her face was much harsher to the now lower-ranking angels. Fiella was smiling toward Zaffiel.

"So, tell me. What happened?" Zaffiel demanded.

"Sit down and get comfortable, it's a very long story I have to tell." Nirine replied.

-&-&-&-

A willowy girl with long, wispy black hair sat on a cliff, staring out into the ocean. Her hazel eyes were glazed over. She wore a long black skirt and black boots, along with a navy blue skin-tight full shirt. In her hand swung a golden clock with sapphires and rubies to mark the hours.

"The pendulum swings still," She said to no one. The golden chain that the clock hung from was wrapped around the girl's hands, which were completely stationary. "Will anyone ever break my pendulum? As it swings on, only time can tell…time will yield the worst and best results…so why does my luck rest with them?"

She moved. Her hair flew in a wild breeze, but the pendulum swung ever as perfect. It seemed as if whatever she did was dependent upon the little clock with its swinging hands and sparkling face.

"Won't you break my pendulum?"

-&-&-&-

It was now twilight and nearing twenty hours of puzzlement from the brains of generations zero through three. Tie was now sitting on the top of the Dolphin, as they had surfaced for the night. Luke was sound asleep in her lap, like a heated pillow.

"So I'm not the only one who needed to clear their head." Lily said, poking her head out and her body emerging not far behind. "What an interesting day it's been so far."

Tie nodded. "Yes, it has been."

They sat in silence and watched the sky. Purple-gray clouds looked like another ocean floating in the sky, coming to wash up onto the calm fading blue heavens. It was a peaceful silence, not a tense one.

"DINNER!" Chang's loud shout penetrated all their deep thoughts.

"Hey, you know what?" Another voice demanded. This time, it was Kim. "If an army moves on its stomach, then…then…a Jet moves on its ass!"

"Was that a direct insult? I'm forever fas…" Mirllyne began, then cut herself off. "I'm forever amused at your insulting techniques!"

Tie jumped back down with Luke in her arms. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Mirllyne blanched. "I'm from another country, what can you expect?"

Tie eyed her, but accepted this reply.

Elsewhere on the Dolphin, Omega decided that it was fine for Joe and Francoise to leave captivity. Joe had nearly thrown his arms up to rejoice. Being in there was horrible. As he stepped out, a small girl began to float in front of him.

"Bon soir, Joe!" D.S. said. "I 'eard about your probleem. Are you okay?"

Her tiny face was showing only concern for his well being. Joe nodded in reply, not wanting to repeat the dream to yet another person. D.S. accepted the reply and sat down on his shoulder. She hummed a song that he couldn't place.

When Joe emerged into the kitchen, he also stepped onto a battlefield. It was a volley of fireballs, flying from Mirllyne to Tie to Chang and back to Mirllyne again. Then something new started on the twentieth volley of fireballs: little fire-like pixie things began to fly around. Their naked bodies were covered by flame, and their hair seemed to be burning with their bodies. He stood, watching the little pixies dance their way around the fireballs.

"OY! JOE!" Joe heard. Mirllyne was shouting at him. He shook his head and the room came into normal focus once again. "Hello, you're on Earth! Welcome back!"

Her wide smile and the fireball clenched in her fist gave him the impression that she was getting ready to punch him if he didn't stop watching the pixies. The fireball vanished once Mirllyne saw that the confused look was gone from his eyes.

"Can you see the fire sprites?" Mirllyne asked, turning around to continue setting the table for dinner. "If you can, it's fine. Don't worry."

"That's what they are?" Joe asked. Mirllyne laughed at his shock. "They're beautiful, like living flame."

Mirllyne bobbed her pigtailed head. "Yes, that's right. They're the embodiment of fire. Make them mad, they could burn to so rare that Chang could serve you tonight. They usually only show up at major fires…but I suppose this was a special case."

Joe looked to his shoulder. D.S. was gone. Something told him that Mirllyne was beating around the bush on about this whole fire sprite thing. Another something told him that she was also avoiding the topic of angels for a reason of her own. Had one hurt her?

"Earth to Joe, Joe, can you hear us?" Mirllyne said. Her entire face was beaming at him as if there was no tomorrow. Joe imagined that he did look pretty stupid, spacing out every five seconds.

"Good, then. He can help get ready." Tie said happily.

-&-&-&-

"…I see." Zaffiel said, smiling her tight-lipped smile. Nirine nearly collapsed from relief. For the last four hours, she'd been explaining to Zaffiel and Tsukasa about the dream Joe and Francoise had. The miserable angel now wanted nothing more than to go to sleep for herself.

"Have you been able to contact Etaf yet?" Tsukasa asked Zaffiel. Zaffiel shook her head and returned her gaze to Nirine.

"Thank you for explaining this whole process to us. I'll escort you to your chambers so you can rest, then you can assist us further. Is this acceptable?" Zaffiel commanded to Nirine.

"Yes, that's fine." Nirine replied, rising from her chair and following Zaffiel from the room. In truth, Nirine was terribly sorry about this. She resolved to loose another night of real sleep and call one of her old friends through an old link.

-&-&-&-

"STAY IN THERE!" Omega shouted, slamming the door to a broom closet and locking it so Panthos couldn't escape. She heard his laughter through the steel door and wanted to punch a hand through and throttle him.

"Whoa, what happened?" Pyunma asked. Omega was practically blowing steam at the broom closet. "Are you afraid…"

"PANTHOS, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Omega bellowed, storming away. As soon as she was out of range, Pyunma unlocked the closet and freed Panthos. He was laughing hysterically, as if this was all planned out.

"I'm gonna get you, Omega!" Panthos shouted, wheeling down the hall after her. Omega screamed in fury and began to curse Pyunma. She was so wrapped up in her screaming that she didn't hear a certain green-haired person sneak up behind her. And by the time she knew he was there, it was too late.

Panthos had already pressed his lips to hers.

"UGHHHHHH…Panthos!" Omega demanded, a furious blush climbing up her cheeks. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Omega seized Panthos by the collar right as Lily turned the corner to begin this hallway. Lily was coming to clean, as it had been getting dirty in her absence. Panthos began to struggle; fearing what Omega was going to do to him. Pyunma also came down the hall; eager to see how badly Omega mutilated him.

But this scene was quite the opposite. Omega brought Panthos an inch from her face, looked at him with all the ferocity she could muster with her burning blush, then crushed her lips against his. Lily dropped the vacuum and Pyunma laughed at the strange outcome.

"Bad time?" Lily asked, blushing apologetically. Omega dropped Panthos. Lily turned and walked away, still blushing deeply. Pyunma also ran off to tell the others what had happened, as much as to escape Omega's wrath.

"So…did you mean that?" Panthos asked, fighting to remain coherent. Omega played with her sweatshirt. She raised her eyes to glare at Panthos and nodded. He burst into a wide smile and began to laugh.

"You're an evil bastard, Panthos." Omega said, joining him in laughter. "You forced the end to fall in love."

"I don't know about that," Panthos said, kissing her again. "Are you sure you didn't fall in love with me off your own accord?"

-&-&-&-

_"IN SOMNIS VERITAS! BITCH! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Nirine screamed through the dream link. She was in bed, asleep, but her conscience was wide awake. ISV stepped into the dream, cursing about how she was awakened._

"_What? Who the shit is it, I wanna kill you! Fucker!" ISV swore. Then she registered Nirine and caught herself. "Whoa, Nirine. How long has it been? I trust you were the one who gave those dreams to Joe and Francoise?"_

_Nirine nodded her head. ISV's favorite background came into instant play, river, moonlight and all. _

"_It's been quite a while, I must agree with that." Nirine said. "I _did _cause them to remember what happened to them those thousands of years ago, though I did not want it to have that exact result. When I pictured it…they remained alive."_

_ISV laughed like she hadn't since she watched herself slap 002 over and over again. __Nirine blushed a little. Even elementary dream workers knew what was needed to fabricate a false reality._

"_There was intervention," Nirine explained once ISV had stopped laughing. "While I was drawing the memory out, someone tried to break the connection. Someone was trying to access them, since I was pulling the memories at the same time. Would it happen to be you?"_

"_No, why would I want to contact them? Hello, we're living together right now." ISV protested, sitting down on a rock. She began to play with the tree's leaves. "In any case, did you get their fingerprint?"_

"_I did." Nirine replied. "I'll give it to you. Night."_

-&-&-&-

"How the hell can you be so dead?" Panthos asked upon walking in on Omega and Pandora. Both were practically asleep over the controls. "You just had _four cups of coffee _APIECE! Even Josephine's happier than you two, and she's dead!"

"I thought I told you to be a good little dork." Omega snapped back. "Oh, hey, Lily."

Lily entered, looking a little tired, but she still had a far way to go before she even rivaled Pandora or Omega. Panthos rolled his eyes.

"Don't change the subject, _dork_. You're gonna get yourselves sick as hell and it's not gonna be my fault." Panthos said.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, wondering why Panthos was the only one capable of half-coherent speech. "Hey look, it's raining outside. I hope that there's not thunder…oh how I hate thunder…"

"That's not natural rain." Pandora observed. "Lily, could you cover for me while I find Tirzah?" She stood up and Lily took her place.

"Jet! JET! It's safe to come out now!" Tirzah called, searching for Jet. "Omega is gone right now!"

"Tirzah?" Pandora asked. Tirzah paused her search for Jet to look at Pandora. "Are you causing it to rain?"

"No…no, I'm not." Tirzah said. "FRIG YOU, JET! COME OUT OR **I'LL** KICK YOUR ASS!"

They got to the control room to find Fate, Poseidon, Riko, Joe, Francoise, Epona, and Kim waiting for them. Panthos was smiling at his handiwork. Pandora gave him the 'don't-get-too-happy-too-soon' stare.

"So, what did we get dragged in here for?" Kim demanded. "I was going Jet-hunting."

"That rain isn't natural," Epona remarked. "Is that the problem?"

"You bet. Do any of you think…wait, I'm stupid. Francoise, do you think you could find who's causing this?" Panthos asked. "And Fate, put your wings away. We all know who they're from."

Fate was stroking her tattered wings. "I can't, you idiot. Once you receive the wings of a broken angel, you can't take them off. My angel gave them to me once they deemed her a black angel. Oh…"

"There are two types of angels," Poseidon began to explain. "There are white angels. They're angels like the angel of fire, water, dreams, and stuff like that. Black angels is misleading. They're the angels such as the angels of death, fate, and the angels of emotion. Usually, their wings show what type they are. But in some cases, they don't."

"To the northwest, thirty-three degrees!" Francoise said, causing Pandora to nearly jump out of her skin. Lily turned around and smiled.

"You got it."

-&-&-&-

"Um, good fucking morning!" Ra shouted. Her hair was standing on end and she had marks from her sheets. "We're in the fucking middle of fucking nowhere! Fuck! I could have slept for another five fucking hours!"

"Shut the hell up." Enx growled. She, like Ra, was not a morning person.

"Both of you, shut up before I make you." Omega was pacing now. Joe stood next to her, wondering what was going on. It was only five in the morning, everyone was in their pajamas, and everyone was ticked for being up.

"Here's the deal. This rain is unnatural, and it wasn't caused by Tirzah. Only one other person could have caused this, and that's Zaffiel, the angel of storms. I know most of you have abilities from your reconstruction, but you have magic. We all do. Find it inside yourself. You should feel it as a certain color, like a color you really like. You should be able to access it and force it out of yourself. No, Panthos, not like shit." Omega explained. "There's something else. Generation Zero wasn't just chosen for their natural talents. Epsilon was the communicator between angels, Gods, humans and all other races at that time. So…that's all for now. Tune in later for more fun facts!"

Pandora tugged a sweatshirt over her head as the others went to get changed. Poseidon hung back, since he was already dressed. He pulled a pair of gloves on that only cut off at the top joint of his fingers.

"You shouldn't go, Pandora." He warned. They kissed briefly. "You're going to come down with the flu or something if you don't let yourself rest. And since I know you're planning to use magic, you'll use most of it since your body has been trying to deal with the sleep loss and the sharp increase in caffeine intake. Rain is not going to help."

"Calm down, Poseidon. I'll be fine." Pandora assured him as they kissed once more. Poseidon grabbed her by the wrist and took one of his gloves off. He pressed the back of that hand to her forehead, then drew it back. Looking at her over his glasses, he gave her a look of warning.

"You're already coming down with something. Stay back." Poseidon said. Pandora wormed free of his grasp. She ran up to the ladder, climbed it, and jumped out. He shook his head at her. Somehow, he got this weird feeling that she'd end up getting worse.

-&-&-&-

"Where's this bitch supposed to be?" Ra demanded, back in full Xeno-Hearts uniform. "I didn't get up for fucking nothing."

GB was still puzzling over how ladies could have such filthy vocabularies, and didn't notice it was hailing until a large chunk hit him square on his bald head. He jumped and transformed into a clone of Eleanor. She looked at him and cast him a look of utter loathing.

"So, Pandora. We meet again." Zaffiel said into the storm. Pandora looked up and saw the angel sitting on a cloud, looking rather smug. "For those who haven't met me before, I am Zaffiel, the angel of storms, second in command to Tsukasa."

She jumped down off her cloud. She was now wearing a rather dull outfit. Her shirt was plain gray with a hood on it, and was too long for her fingers to reach out. Skin-tight purple-black-gray-blue shorts covered very little of her white knees, which were decked of swirling tattoo designs. Across her feet were silver stilettos with little lightning streaks on the sides. Her dark pink hair hung around her face, and at times, obscured her vision.

Seconds later, Zaffiel held up a finger toward the sky. Lightning directed itself to that finger and began to charge.

"I'm so glad I was chosen for this," Zaffiel said, aiming her finger at Pandora. "I get to kill the bitch who put me out."

She fired the yellow-purple streaks at Pandora. Pandora held out a single hand, and an ice blue shield formed around her.

"I see you can use magic again. Well, I didn't come here to have tea. Let's see what the rest of these jackasses can do!" Zaffiel cried. The wind picked up drastically and white wings unfurled from Zaffiel's back.

(Let's see if Omega taught you well enough,) Epona said. She herself raised a hand to her face, then swung the other around in a circular motion. Green light shone where her hand had already passed, and when she dropped the hand away from her face; leaves and vines grew from her fingers. She held a hand out and began her command over the vines.

"Such as shame," Zaffiel said. The hailstones grew in size and increased in their already persistent fall. "Magic gone to such a waste. Enala would be so sad to see what's become of her position."

Tirzah began to argue with Zaffiel's weather changes. Zaffiel was interested in something much different, however.

"Well, this is nice. I'm changing with Fiella and Enala. I'll be finishing this later, bitches. Have fun!" Zaffiel said. She vanished, though the storm did not. Two replacement angels came. The first was Fiella, then was an angel with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Epona, right?" The new angel asked. "I'm Enala, angel of the earth."

"And I'm Fiella, and these are my arrows! Like 'em?" Fiella asked, launching a wooden arrow from a bow.

"DON'T LET IT HIT YOU!" Fate burst, sending a red bang from her left hand. "You idiots, those arrows will turn you inside out with love for someone!"

One went flying toward Pandora, regardless of the gale. This time, she didn't protect herself. Instead, a huge wave curled up to guard her. Poseidon stood a few feet away, holding a hand out. He smiled at Pandora, then jumped onto a wave and rode off with it.

(Is that all he can do?) Jet scoffed.

(If that was all, why did Black Ghost want us so badly?) Panthos asked. Usually, he'd cast the illusion that there was a large emerald-scaled dragon flying above the battle, but he didn't. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. A dragon with emerald scales landed and allowed him to climb onto its shoulder.

(Bull shit,) Omega challenged. She, too, hopped onto the dragon's shoulder next to Panthos. They flew off into the black skies, circling the fight below.

"So, we're finally remembering," Enala said with a smirk. "Watch and learn how to use magic!"

(I ALREADY TAUGHT YOU! DO IT!) Epona's voice shouted as thorns began to attack her vines. Green flames licked the thorns from Panthos's dragon above. Fiella launched another arrow as the others were preoccupied. This was aimed for Francoise.

Francoise saw it coming. Pandora watched it, powerless to stop it. Francoise tried to do as Epona had instructed, and seconds before the arrow came in contact with her right arm…

-&-&-&-

"Ah, this is nice to watch." Tsukasa said, curled up in her chair. In front of her sat a milky blue crystal, showing the progressing battle.

"It proves that Mister Scarl before us was correct about them." Zaffiel said, also observing the tactics used by the sister angels.

"What do you mean, Zaffiel?"

"I mean, he was correct about their power. They _are _the Gods and Goddesses of the court, proving that their powers are as they seem."

"Will they have them until they die?"

"I suppose. I would not know."

"Do you think they'd still have them if we had Pierre and Marco reconstruct them?"

"…"

-&-&-&-

Fiella jumped in rejoice before she saw what had happened. Omega closed her eyes and dug her nails into Panthos before she realized what Francoise had done.

"…Francoise?" Enx asked into the wind. A ruby red light shone through the sheets of ice and rain. Inside it was a beaming Francoise, clutching a broken arrow in her hands. Fiella was rooted to her spot, wondering what the hell had just happened. Pandora walked forward, laughing.

"Yes, Fiella, some people have already chosen who they love." Pandora said, taking the angel's bow and snapping it in two pieces.

"That means that they can't deny fate." Enala said. "The two of them must repeat the past…"

"Hold on," Joe interrupted. "What do you know about us?"

Enala placed a hand to his cheek. "You truly are _her _son. The same eyes…how very amazing…"

Joe slapped her hand away. "What do you know about me?"

"What I need to. It's not like you can force it out of me." Enala retorted, turning to a shaken Epona. This, however, was enough to really set Joe off. Re-listening to Epona and Omega's magic tutorial, he reached deep inside himself for something. Aiming a finger, golden flames blazed around Enala.

"TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!" He demanded as Enala tried to quench the fire.

"You'd be torn apart by it! I refuse!" She cried, then vanished. Fiella threw the broken bow at Pandora. Then she too vanished into the storm.

Pandora laid a hand on Joe's shoulder. "We'll find out in due time, Joe. Until then, don't worry about it."

But this was quite the opposite of what Joe thought. Enala and Fiella knew about his mother. They knew everything about what was happening to him right now. And for some strange reason, he felt like he just got smitten with the lead role of Mika's latest multi-chapter story.

D.S. appeared next to him. She was looking a little more depressed than usual. As Joe was about to ask if they could go inside, a sapphire shield came up around them from the rain.

"Joe…they've told you too much." D.S. said. Her voice was devoid of its prior accent. "I fear that you're going to chase what they gave you. Don't. Please."

"Oh yeah? What the hell do you know?" Joe snapped. D.S. gave him a nasty look.

"I know what you've gone through. You have no idea, Joe. Right now, I'll only tell you this: nothing is as it appears." D.S. said. "By the way, have you seen a golden clock hanging from a golden chain with rubies and sapphires to mark the hours? I've lost it…"

"Sorry, I can't help you." Joe said. "And what happened to your accent?"

"I already told you. Nothing is as it appears."

-&-&-&-&-


	5. Frozen Fire, Liquid Ice

The name of this chapter is the title of the story Zaffiel and Tsukasa were originally part of. But I wasn't writing that one alone! Star-Kitten, ROCK ON! Here's a very random piece of knowledge: if you hover your mouse over the top left-hand corner logo, it'll say 'site logo'. I swear to cheese. Yes, cheese.

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Four: Frozen Fire, Liquid Ice

-&-&-&-&-

Mirllyne sat in her room, holding a pocketwatch. As she opened it with her slender fingers, it began to tinkle out a melody. It was hauntingly beautiful, leaving every note hanging in the cramped room. Her ruby eyes grew sad as the melody became sour; this was a very old watch. The owner's sister had given it to her once her sister had become a haunted angel.

"You seriously don't have that still, do you?" Omega asked. Mirllyne closed the watch and slipped it into her jean pocket. "I guess we can't let go of some things, can we?"

"I can't get rid of it," Mirllyne said sharply. "Polaris asked me to give it to her sister when the time was right. Joe was asking me about a girl named D.S.…Omega…do you think that could be her?"

Omega sat down next to Mirllyne. "I dunno…and right now, I could frankly care less. Panthos was right. I feel like someone's about to knock me out or something…do you mind if I sleep here tonight?…"

As Mirllyne stood up to go find Joe, Omega lay down on her bed and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. Mirllyne didn't seem to mind this. Less people to bitch at her! So she went into the hall and left Omega to finally sleep, after over a day of being up, depleting over half her magic in one go, and fighting in the rain. Panthos ran into her on his way to find Omega.

"Mirllyne, have you seen Omega? I've been trying to chase her into bed since we dumped Fiella and Enala." Panthos asked.

"Yeah, she's inside. But she's asleep, and I'd be careful not to wake her up." Mirllyne answered. She walked off to find Joe and ask him about D.S., and why he knew about her.

-&-&-&-

"Got any sevens?" Ra asked, clinically bored from sitting in the control room for three and a half hours. GB handed her a seven and she placed the pair on the table.

"Got any queens?" Kim asked Ra, who shook her head. Kim swore and drew a card from the pile in the center.

"So, who thinks we should do something more exciting?" ISV said, throwing her cards in the air. "Zaffiel, Enala, and Fiella aren't going to be back for a while, so why are we even assigned in six-person groups to keep watch?"

"Hey, ISV! Got any twos?" Sadie said, just to annoy her. "Hey, ya know, we should dive and have someone on top. Maybe they sent Xiaka down there, or something to that degree, ne?"

"_FINALLY_! SOMETHING TO DO!" ISV shouted. "Oy, Pandora! Do you wanna go on top and check if anyone's out there? Then we'll dive, and you can put up a shield to see if anyone's there!"

Pandora nodded and left. She was still in her wet clothes from before, but now they were rather damp. Out in the hall, Poseidon was somewhat stalking her. He'd heard ISV planning. But what no one else (he doubted Pandora wanted to recognize it) noticed that Pandora's magic was low. She'd hardly last. So he made up his mind to go out with her.

"Pandora!" Poseidon called as she was about to mount the stairs. "Wait up, I'll go out with you."

"No, that's fine…" Pandora's voice was strangely quiet. "I can handle it."

"You can't. I'm coming with you." Poseidon insisted. She shrugged and climbed the ladder, Poseidon close behind her.

(See anything?) ISV asked. (Cause we don't. Poseidon's there too.)

(Yeah…right. Ready to dive when you are.) Pandora answered. She held out her hand and a very thin ice blue shield came around her and Poseidon. The Dolphin began to submerge, as did Poseidon and Pandora. Poseidon stood next to Pandora and looked at her. She looked tired, more tired than she usually did. Dark bags hung around her bloodshot eyes. She twitched involuntarily, partially due to caffeine, partially due to the cold sinking into her body, but mostly out of fatigue. Her hair was hanging in a small, limp braid.

(I must say, it looks so murky and gray out there.) GB said. Pandora sat down and continued to sustain the shield and keep watch. Nothing strange had appeared quite yet.

"Want me to take over the shield?" Poseidon offered. "You aren't looking so great. You shouldn't…"

"I know what I can and can't do, Poseidon." Pandora said.

"Good. Let me take over." Poseidon said. Pandora reluctantly let the shield down, but before Poseidon was ready. Water flooded around them, before Poseidon sent it flying away and a dark blue shield came up in place of Pandora's. She lay back, shaking worse than before. Poseidon sat down next to her and took her head in his lap. She curled up to his warmth and sighed deeply.

"Your magic is depleted, isn't it?" He asked. Sadly, she nodded. He peeled off a glove and placed his bare hand to her forehead. It was warmer than it had been before they'd clashed with the three angels. "I get it now. You didn't want to admit to ISV that you'd come down with something, so you just came out here."

Pandora nodded again.

(ISV, there's nothing down here. Pandora's sick. We'll be in within a few minutes. Okay?) Poseidon said.

(Yeah, I agree with you. In any case, do come back in. We've decided that we'll fly to the nearest continent overnight and see if we can find anything there.) ISV answered in a bored tone.

(I'll cover…my shift.) Pandora said. She stood up, still shaking, and pulled a very fragile shield around herself as she twisted the hatch open. After a minute of trying, she gave up her attempt. Poseidon walked over and covered her as he opened the hatch. Pandora dropped down first, followed by Poseidon. She walked slowly toward the control room, determined to prove to Poseidon that she could. The doors slid open, and ISV, Sadie, Ra, Kim, and GB all left, talking calmly.

"I thought you were sick…hey!" ISV said as Pandora fell backwards. Poseidon caught her before she hit the ground.

"She can sleep in my bed tonight." Poseidon said. He lay her down gently on the ground, then lifted her back into his arms. "Pandora didn't want to tell you that she had run out of magical energy. She did what you told her to."

ISV's face fell. "I'm sorry, Poseidon. I really am. Anything I can do to help?"

"Go ahead and tell Panthos, Kronos and Epsilon what I'm doing. If they give you any shit, just tell that I still have nearly full power." Poseidon said. "And I know it's not your fault. She's too meek to say anything."

-&-&-&-

"Joe!" Mirllyne called as the Japanese boy turned into his room. She ran toward him. "You were asking me about a little girl named D.S.. What do you know about her?"

Joe wondered why Mirllyne had such a sudden interest in his shoulder companion. "Well…she's small. She usually has a French accent. Her hair is black, and her eyes are hazel. Why do you want to know?"

Mirllyne pulled the watch from her pocket and opened it. The melody began to tinkle from it, but that wasn't what caught Joe's attention. It was the design. D.S. had described a golden watch hanging from a golden chain with rubies and sapphires to mark the hours. It was now in Mirllyne's hands, playing a song.

"Where did you get that?" Joe asked.

"My friend, Polaris. When her sister became a haunted angel, she asked me to keep her sister's watch safe until her sister was purified again. I don't remember her full name, but Polaris's sister's name was D.S.." Mirllyne replied, gently closing the watch once again and sliding it into her pocket.

"Was Polaris an angel too?" Joe asked. Mirllyne nodded. "Were you an angel?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Mirllyne snapped, walking off angrily.

-&-&-&-

"That's all." Tsukasa said. Fiella and Enala rose in perfect unison, then walked out Tsukasa's office doors. They walked toward Marco's office next, since he had asked them in particular for help with something. What it was, the twin angels knew not. As they pressed the code into the keypads next to the doors, Marco stepped out to greet them.

"It's nice of you to come," He said. Over the last two years, he'd become more like Josephine…well, we'll say a male version of Josephine. His hair was wild and untamed, and through his right ear was a black diamond. The three stepped into his office.

This was the largest office on the base, and it doubled Tsukasa's in size. Another room joined it on the left side of the office, and Marco led the twins through these doors. Once the two were through, Marco locked it with a keycode and they walked along in the dark.

"Do you remember my sister, Alexa, who was supposedly killed during Project Meteor?" Marco asked. Enala nodded in reply. "We found her body and began to try and restore her to what she once was. We've had to reconstruct most of her body with cybernetic parts, but she's in a very deep coma."

Fiella stopped walking. "No, Marco. We can't do that."

"I must say that I agree with Fiella. A person will only do as they desire, and we cannot force them to do what they do not want to do." Enala said, now stepping to turn and leave.

"You didn't let me finish. What I was going to ask was…" Marco continued. Fiella held up a hand to silence him.

"No. What you're asking was banished after the Epidemic of Kage, thousands of years ago. We're sorry, Marco, but we can't do that. Alexa will be fine, just give it a while longer." Fiella said. The twins turned (in unison) and left him alone.

"All I was going to ask was for you to tell me if we should turn her into a real cyborg."

-&-&-&-

"Sure you don't want help?" Kronos offered a final time. Poseidon looked up to him and smiled.

"No, that's okay." Poseidon replied. Kronos shrugged and left the room. Poseidon had already changed Pandora into his own dry clothes, and the wet ones were now drying on the room's heater. He'd even managed to wash her filthy hair, and untangle it from its short braid. She now lay in his bed with the covers drawn up.

"I don't care if you can hear me or not, Pandora. You push yourself way too hard. You need to calm down! Nothing will happen unless you do something to set it off." Poseidon said. He ran his fingers through Pandora's thick blond hair. She shifted and slowly opened her eyes. "So, you're awake now. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine. Would you let me out?" Pandora asked. Her voice was hoarse.

"No."

"Poseidon…"

"I asked how you felt. Answer and I _may _let you go."

"I feel fine."

"Are you sure?" Poseidon sat down on the bed next to her. She struggled to sit up, and once she did, her head swam violently. She held onto Poseidon for support.

"Yes, I'm sure. Want do you want me to do to prove it?"

"You have a fever."

"Do not."

Poseidon wrapped his arms around her. "I had to carry you in here. Don't worry about it, Pandora. You've come down with something. You _can _stay in bed for a few days, it won't kill you."

Using Poseidon, Pandora lifted herself up to stand. Slowly, she walked to the door and waited for it to slide open. As it did, Panthos poked his head inside.

"I wouldn't do that." Panthos said. "You're sick, Pandora. You should stay in bed."

Pandora sighed, admitting her defeat. The short walk to the door had exhausted all her energy. She walked even slower back to the bed and sank down onto it. "Do you have anything to drink?" She asked as she curled up. Poseidon covered her once more.

"I'll go get you something. Just stay here." He said, leaving with Panthos. Pandora, too tired to do anything but sleep, closed her eyes and began to nod off. The door slid quietly back open and Poseidon walked in. He saw Pandora, asleep once more. She had fallen asleep on her side, with her hair ahead of her face on the pillow.

_And so the monster sleeps, huh. _Poseidon thought. Her fever had not gone down. Being careful not to wake her again, he laid a damp cloth on her forehead, then made himself comfortable in the chair.

-&-&-&-

Joe was getting quite used to Jet's snores by this time. They were always the same loud; locomotive-like grunts then a soft whistle. Joe had the urge to put a flower over his mouth and watch it rise and fall as the locomotive puffed onward. Then the urge to fall asleep overpowered the one to toy with the sleeping Jet, and Joe fell asleep slowly.

Images floated through his mind. There was no clear order to their sequence; they simply existed to exist. Finally, they seemed to choose one scene above all to focus on. There was a small girl who resembled Fate, an angel-like person (well, she had wings), and an older woman. The angel had pure white wings, black hair, very dark blue eyes, and wore nothing but black. The woman wore a light blue skirt and a black full-length shirt. Her hair was midnight blue, and her eyes were the same color brown Fate's were. They were in a garden with a lot of silvery flowers around. This woman must have been Fate's mother, judging by the way she was smiling and showing things to the younger Fate.

"Mommy, why do we need to have things written out for us?" The little Fate asked. She tugged her mother's skirt and looked up with her innocent brown eyes. The woman knelt so her eyes were level with Fate's.

"Fate…I don't know where to begin." The woman said. She took Fate in her arms and held her. "Do you see the stars, Fate? They must do something within their life, but if they don't know what to do, they'll be horribly confused. Does that make any sense to you?"

"It does, Destiny." The angel said. Her voice was very quiet, like a breeze rustling the flowers. "But do you think Fate will ever need use that knowledge?"

Destiny sighed and Fate jumped from her arms. "I don't know, Etaf, I really don't know. I have no idea what's in store for me, because as you very well know, I write everyone's fate but my own. I know what is to become of yourself and my daughter, but no idea what will befall me."

"It makes sense, mommy." Fate said. With her little hands, she yanked on the stem of a small, snow-white rose. She handed it to her mother, beaming that she'd been able to do it alone. Destiny smiled and took the rose from her child's hand and placed it behind her own ear.

"Do you know what will happen to this city?" Etaf asked.

"I do." Destiny replied. Her face was set in a sad state. "Far in the future, angels will tear it apart for their own selfish purposes. I know when. I wonder, will I be alive to watch it happen?"

Joe wanted to shout to the trio that Destiny would be gone long before that even happened, but he found that in this dream, he had no body, meaning he had no voice. He was simply watching from afar as these events played out. Suddenly, everything dissolved into a whirl of blue-black. When it stopped, Joe was standing in the very same garden. Fate and Etaf were there, but Destiny was not. Fate looked around to check if anyone aside from herself and Etaf were present, then turned to face the angel.

"Fate, this is the end. I'm so very sorry, but I can't do any more." Etaf said. She and Fate hugged. Etaf's wings were shimmering brightly in the dim starlight. In one swift movement and a high-pitched scream, Etaf tore them from her body and handed them to Fate.

"You can't be serious." Fate said. Tears leaked from the angel's eyes as she fixed them to Fate's back. "Etaf…"

"I am serious, Fate. With these, you're half-angel. I'm so very sorry, Fate, that it had to turn out this way. I'll never forget you, I promise." Etaf said, embracing Fate a final time then ran off into the night. Fate sank to her knees, then completely collapsed and began to sob. Her entire world had just come crashing in on her, and she could do nothing to control it. No one could, now that her mother was dead and her angel left her all alone in the world.

The image blurred again and this time completely left. Joe woke up, drenched in his own cold sweat and panting as if he'd just ran a very long distance. Jet was still asleep, though his snoring was quieter now that it was later. The digital clock winked the red numbers 2:37 at him in the dark. He was sure that that had been just a bad dream, a terrible dream that would never happen again.

Joe stood up, shaking, and walked through the near-dark Dolphin. A low voice was singing in the distance. It was swinging back and forth like a clock ticking with a very familiar melody. Joe hastened to find whoever was singing. The voice led him to the makeshift living room. D.S. was sitting on the coffee table, eyes closed, voice hauntingly gorgeous. She must have heard him enter, for as soon as he did, she opened her eyes and stopped singing.

The second she did, Joe's eyes slammed shut and he fell asleep on the spot.

-&-&-&-

"For crying out loud, Fate, he's not dead." Epona's voice said. She sounded as if she were underwater, or something like that.

"Then what's he doing there? Explain!" Fate's voice demanded, sounding just the same. Joe felt his head pounding with the promise of a migraine. "He's waking up!"

Joe opened his eyes. His eyelids felt like they weighed at least a ton apiece. It took a great effort. Once they were open, Fate's image floated into his field of vision. Her face looked terrified. At that moment, Joe realized that when he saw Fate, she was usually scared beyond all reason. This thought propelled him to sit up, and then stand. Fate's brown eyes widened as he crossed the room.

"Do you have any food? I'm starving," Joe said. Epona giggled and Fate sank down onto the couch, almost looking like she was relieved.

"What were you doing down there, Joseph Shimamura?" Fate demanded. Her eyes were set. They wanted an answer, and they wanted it _now_.

Joe tried to recall what had happened. All that came up was walking to find something, then collapsing from fatigue. "I have no clue, Fate." But something told him that he knew the events that had taken place. Something wanted him to scream his dream out at Fate and demand to know if it was true. But the same thing held him back, and told him that it was already shaky ground that he stood on. That told him that it was all too true. It told him that all his recent dreams had been true. Joe ignored the voices that were now arguing in his head and walked off to the kitchen.

"You heard her singing last night, didn't you?" Was Mirllyne's prompt greeting to Joe as he walked into the kitchen. Her eyes were blurred, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. Nonetheless, they were just as demanding as Fate's.

"I…I'm not even sure any longer." Joe finally answered. Mirllyne's expression softened and she smiled.

"I can tell you." Mirllyne said, fishing out a bowl and the milk. "You heard an angel singing. They're quite personal about it, mind you. No one, not even other angels, can resist his or her singing. When you heard her singing, you were drawn toward the source, and pardon me, but you were hypnotized by it. Once she knew you knew she was singing, she stopped, therefore putting you instantly to sleep. Make sense?"

"Yeah, but how do you know stuff like that?" Joe asked, watching Mirllyne pour milk over her Trix and begin shoveling it into her mouth.

"You have to remember, my best friends were angels." Mirllyne replied, pausing only for this purpose. Heaven forbid that she not have the multicolored, sugar-spiked kid's cereal.

-&-&-&-

"Arien and Kummi, the two angels I wanted most to see." Tsukasa said, swiveling around in her chair. Arien was sitting in a black leather chair, smiling placidly. The other angel, Kummi, looked a little on the pissed side. She had short, layered blue-purple hair with the roots and ends dyed furious orange. Her eyes were a similar shade of a fire color. She wore a black t-shirt and jeans that were scarcely more than ribbons, with high black boots to cover them.

"So, exactly what are we here for?" Kummi demanded. "I'm hoping it's not one of those 'get to know each other better' things. I've had enough of those to last me the next millenium. Possibly even through a second Epidemic."

"Oh, trust me, it's nothing even _remotely _like that." Tsukasa said. Kummi relaxed a little and allowed a small smile to creep across her face. "You two know Mirllyne, and what she was and did. You two have the power to defeat her and her little team that she's now a part of."

"Dead or alive?" Arien asked. Tsukasa's face broke into a wide smile.

"Alive, preferably, but if it's impossible then dead is fine. I think we'd like to have a nice fight or two with her after her betrayal, wouldn't we?" Tsukasa said, now pacing around her office. "I've heard that Pandora has fallen ill. How unfortunate for them, right?"

Kummi rose from her seat and tossed her head back. She caught her hair and tied it into a high ponytail, but the shortest front parts hung around her lean face. "I wasn't the angel of fire for nothing, was I?"

-&-&-&-

Mirllyne didn't like what was going on, not one bit. It was nine in the morning and they were only two hours away from Tokyo's harbor. There was something foreboding about going there. She knew what had already taken place in the city, but it was the coming events that terrified her.

"Someone's not preoccupied, are they?" Kronos asked. His look upon registering Mirllyne's face was positively beaming. "You're thinking about them. About the entire life you used to have."

"And why should I tell you that?" Mirllyne demanded. She swiveled to face his blue eyes and met them with her ruby ones. He held up his hands.

"Hey, relax. Omega woke up and wanted you to know that two people are there waiting to see you and you alone."

"Really, who?"

"Two people you're on the greatest terms with."

"Don't tell me."

"Your two favorite angels."

"Sarcasm?"

"Figure it out!"

"Let me guess. Arien and Kummi."

"Bingo!"

He poked her in the stomach and ran off. Mirllyne would run after him, hand it been a normal day, but today was far from it. Arien and Kummi; they were quite possibly her least favorite people on the planet next to Tsukasa and Albireo. But the last two on her list were for a very, very personal reason. She stood up and walked calmly out of the room, undoing her pigtails and redoing them into a high ponytail as she walked along. If anyone were to pass her walking, they'd notice her clothes gone and only a glowing white bubble around Mirllyne. The orb tightened, then loosened to reveal the black leather outfit.

(You've changed. I can see you walking past.) Pandora said. (Don't worry. We were talking earlier. Tell them when you get back.)

(Back from what?) Mirllyne asked.

(Going into Tokyo, of course.)

-&-&-&-

Kummi giggled. It wasn't very often she got to get out, or even off Madagascar. The change in scenery was excellent. You could only stand trees and lemurs for a certain amount of time outside your window before you went crazy. It also wasn't very often you got to torture someone, and get paid for doing it.

She walked along the clustered Tokyo streets. Pierre had been correct about 0013's lasting effects on Tokyo. It made her want to meet Scarl and Josephine and find out how their minds worked. No one even thought it strange to see her walking along.

Pierre had prepared her for the appearance half, too. Kummi had exchanged her normal dress for something more Japanese. So for today only, she wore a black turtleneck sweater, white miniskirt, black boots that came up to her knees with rounded toes, a white messenger cap, and mirrored sunglasses. Her hair fit perfectly. She carried a white leather purse with a shiny gun and a cell phone withheld in it, and a blue iPod mini in her skirt's pocket. No one cared.

The cell phone rang. Kummi pulled it out of the bag and laughed. She could get really used to this.

"They've arrived." Arien said from the other end. "Be ready for them."

-&-&-&-

"Why, tell me Mirllyne, do I get the strange wave of déjà vu all over again?" Sadie asked, slamming the door shut to the little Japanese car. She turned the key in the ignition and shot a smile to her left. "Calm down, Mirllyne. I know all of it."

"What do you know all of?" Ra asked from the back seat, looking up from her current gaming interest. "I think Poseidon wants to know too."

"I already know, thanks very much." Poseidon murmured through his hand. He was worried for Pandora, who was staying back on the Dolphin. He also didn't want to face the two angels. He, along with Mirllyne and a group of others, had already fought them once.

They began to move. Mirllyne's face turned to a look of absolute terror. Poseidon looked out the window as if he were being led to his doom. He could remember the younger version of Kummi. She was always running around Yggdrasil, and was always saying that she'd be the angel of fire some day. Her temper rivaled Chaos' family's own tempers, and only theirs. She was set off by anything.

(Things have gotten worse,) Joe commented.

It was true. The roads had been repaved, but the population had not massively spawned once more. People had more personal space as they walked along the streets. Their eyes were all focused on the ground. Several stores had discount signs hanging in their cramped windows. Buildings still lay in ruins, and a few were beginning to be rebuilt. It was nothing compared to its former glory.

(Just remember what could be lost and we'll do fine.) OV said.

(God, why are you all so gloomy?) Ra finally demanded. (It's like you're being led to the damned guillotine or something.)

(We'll just say…that this isn't the first time this has happened.) Mirllyne said, much to Ra's surprise. No one said a word after that.

-&-&-&-

"They've arrived. They're separated into seven different groups, but they have communication." Kummi said into the phone. She sat on a planter and waved as Mirllyne drove by. Mirllyne shouted something to whoever was driving and the car screeched to a halt.

"I'm going to have to call you back." Kummi said. "Well, Mirllyne. Look at me now! I'm the angel of fire! In any case, I didn't come here to swap stories. I came to kick your ASS!"

On the last word, she ripped the gun from her purse and began to fire. Sadie unfolded herself from the car and held up a hand. In seconds, every person walking along the streets had been knocked out.

"Hey, you know, why use this thing? Let's see if I can outshine you at your own game!" Kummi exclaimed, tossing the gun away. She thrust a finger forward and fantastic blue flames encircled it.

(We've found Kummi. Where the fuck are you?) Ra asked, not wanting to get in the way of these two.

No reply came. Mirllyne and Kummi were now hitting buildings with their excess flames in the attempt to murder one another. Out of nowhere, all of a sudden, jumped Arien in full dress uniform. With a giggle, the two slapped hands and swapped places.

"YOU BITCH!" Omega shouted. Purple light shot from her hands and she jumped to get a better aim on Kummi. Kummi laughed and gave more firepower. Then her eyes caught sight of Joe. She leapt off the building and stood before him.

"She loved you. So much she was willing to die for your sake. And she did." Kummi said, meeting Joe's eyes. "But no one would ever guess what you are."

That was enough, once more, to get Joe all fired up. He clicked his acceleration switch and darted toward Kummi. She didn't have enough time to gather up a decent amount of flames before he slammed her against a building. He stepped out of acceleration mode and bore a hole into Kummi with his glare.

"Tell me what you know!" He ordered. Kummi let out a high laugh, partially hysteria and partially in Joe's ignorance. Joe slapped her.

"FINE! Her name was Kage and that's all I'll tell you until you let me go." Kummi said, beginning to wiggle out of his grasp. As soon as he loosened her, she smacked him in the face with a flaming fist. Or, she would have, if Mirllyne hadn't jumped in the way.

"Run. Run to the Dolphin and take Francoise with you." Mirllyne snapped. "GO! NOW! BEFORE I MAKE YOU!"

Francoise looked quite surprised when Joe came to stand next to her. Mirllyne turned to look and see if he'd left. When she saw he hadn't, she jumped back to him and Francoise.

"I told you to get outta here." Mirllyne said. The place Kummi's fist had struck was swelling and blood had already begun to drip. "But I know you want to stay and find out more about your mother. Stay; just don't get hurt."

With that, she sprung away to leave them alone with each other. Arien flung a ball of ice at Albert, who made quick work of them. Mirllyne and Kummi, though, fought only one another. Fire was being shot from both. It was easy to tell which flames had come from which: Mirllyne's were orange, and Kummi's were soundly indigo. The two were constantly in a cocoon of flame, and neither came out without another scorch mark or gash.

Arien finally flung a large ice crystal into the blaze. Out of it fell Mirllyne, followed by Kummi. Both had been burnt and bruised horribly. Kummi barely held onto her consciousness, while Mirllyne had simply given it up. GB caught Mirllyne as she fell.

"We've finished our job here. Oh, wait. I have one last gift for you." Kummi said through her ragged breath. She held out a hand and golden flames encircled them. "Have fun getting out."

Arien smiled. "Here's for just in case you. You can't shatter my ice, so don't _even _try."

The two vanished in a poof of bubbles and sparks. Joe's first instinct was to attack the flames as if they were cyborgs. He charged at them at mach two and only came out with a large black burn to show for it.

"Don't try it. These are Kummi's favorite weapon. It takes logic to get out." Epona said. "I think I have something. I'll try to grow something. Lily, try and call every metal thing in toward us. Poseidon, get ready for a barrier."

"On it." The two answered.

"Now comes the fun part."

Cars flew toward them, as well as strips of metal and parking meters. A navy blue ring floated around them, then shot up to swirl as water in a glass would. Epona rose a finger to a ninety-degree angle, then dropped it. Plants grew right next to the flames and began to quench them. The ice came flying inward.

Albert shot one missile. Then another to the top of the ice. It began to shatter. As it shattered, it fell inward. Poseidon winced as each fragment hit the barrier.

The metal helped to collapse the ice. The flames took the largest part of the ice now, which froze them as they danced. Eventually, the ice began to melt, therefore nixing the fire. Epona heaved a sigh of relief, then turned to face Joe.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" She asked. "Good. We can't afford for that to happen."

"Why not?" Joe demanded. "You all know something I don't. What the hell is it?"

Epona turned away, her braid following in a graceful arc. "There's a lot of stuff your family has to answer for, Joe. None of these angels are after us. They're after you and Francoise. That's all I can tell you until Mirllyne explains herself. Which should be happening next chapter."

-&-&-&-

Once they had returned to the Dolphin, Pandora was eager to hear the story. Poseidon said he'd explain to her. They left to go back into his room, but then Pandora saw Mirllyne.

"No way. I suppose now…" Pandora said.

"Yes. She'll have to answer us now." Poseidon said. "Go on, get back into bed! I still have enough power to order a tidal wave to knock you over so I can drag you in there if I must."

"Tell us what?" Kim asked. "For God's sake, we know she's a cyborg. What else is there to know? She can shoot fire from her ass now?"

"I wish."

-&-&-&-

The next morning as Mirllyne woke up, she instantly realized that something wasn't right. Epona was sitting next to her, green eyes sparkling with the promise of having to stop the lie.

"They've already begun to guess. Omega's been stalling them, but you can't lie to them for much longer." Epona said. "Come on. You owe it at least to Joe. Possibly both him and Francoise, too. They're trapped at the heart of all this and have no way out until they at least know something."

Mirllyne sat up reluctantly and faced Epona. Judging the weightless feel of her head, Mirllyne guessed that her hair had been let down. These clothes weren't hers, either, and the bandages seemed very strange. Vaguely, she remembered something to do with Kummi and Tokyo…

It came back to her like a tsunami crashing. Telling Joe his mother's name. Kummi. Everything that had happened in Tokyo and before. She felt like bursting into tears, but she didn't.

She was able to stand. She took one step, then Epona tried to tap her on the shoulder, but she turned around and nearly smacked Epona for her effort.

"I was only going to tell you that you have your wings back." Epona snapped in a hurt tone. Mirllyne turned her head to look and see if it were true.

It was. She had wings again. This time, a tear fell down her face. She continued to walk to the living room. D.S. appeared at her shoulder.

"I've missed you, Mirllyne…" She said, then vanished once more. Mirllyne squeezed her eyes shut, as if to close off the world and appear sitting under Yggdrasil once more. But when she opened her eyes, reality came crashing in on her. Arthur was long dead. Kummi was the angel of fire. Each step only brought her closer.

Closer to _what_?

"You're going to tell us, aren't you?" Tirzah demanded, seizing her by the shoulders. Mirllyne sat down on a chair and folded her hands into her lap.

"I'm not who you thought I was. In fact, I'm not a cyborg. I never was. There's something else I never was and never will become, and that's…"

-&-&-&-&-


	6. Ninety Degrees North

The "MARK TIME HUT!" thing will turn into a plot point, FYI. ((smiles)) Clarissa is from my old story The Experimentalist. This time, she's really changed, though…I own Mango, Clarissa, Ellie, Lusia, and Polaris! Jojo will be by next chapter. Next chapter is also the end of Movement One! We'll have the Interlude, then begin Movement Two and the uncovering of some of the weirdest stuff known to man!

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Five: Ninety Degrees North

-&-&-&-&-

"I'm not who you thought I was. In fact, I'm not a cyborg. I never was. There's something else I never was and never will become, and that's…" Mirllyne paused. "A human. I'm a fallen angel. My wings are real. The uniform I keep wearing is standard dress."

Her eyes were focused downward, partially because she couldn't face the group, and mostly due to the blackness of her right eye. She felt a hand on one of her shoulders and looked up to see who it was.

"Recently or long ago?" Lily asked. Her hands twisted the fabric of her sweater and she cast her gaze to Albert.

"Very long ago. Hundreds of years before the first of all these new angels even began to think about falling." Mirllyne answered.

Closer. It drew closer with every word she said and breath she took. Seconds passed. She could almost hear the sound of the little melody tinkling from the watch.

"I was the angel of fire. Excalibur did belong to my boyfriend, whose name was Arthur. But he didn't give it to me. Albireo, Tsukasa's older brother, murdered him. As you have seen, my replacement is Kummi." Mirllyne said.

"The question that remains is how you fell." Albert said. Mirllyne held her hands out and a large, bubble-like orb formed above them. In it was an image of a white-haired girl taking a cloak. This was evidently Mirllyne, expect as an angel. Her hair, if it were to be let down, would only reach to about her shoulders. It was tied back into a thin ponytail with a ribbon the color of fire. A bunch of hair stuck up in the front, almost like long bangs with gel. Her eyes remained the same. She wore a black shirt that came up her neck, and came to her wrists. It cut off at her stomach, exposing her angelic tattoos there. She had on khaki pants that were cuffed severely to fit her, and high black shoes. They looked rather like sneakers.

"_Where are you heading, Mir?" Another angel asked. Mirllyne turned around._

"_Oh, I'm going to see Arthur. He was calling." Mirllyne replied, pulling her cloak around her and pulling up the hood. "Why are you here, Arien?"_

"ARIEN? YOU WERE FRIENDS?" Tirzah exploded. Mirllyne nodded.

_"I dunno…" Arien replied. Her braid only fell to her waist. "Well, in any case, have fun, Mirllyne!"_

"_I will, Arien! See you in a while!" Mirllyne called, already riding away on flames. Her destination was a field with overgrown grass. She landed and ran across._

"_Mirllyne! I was wondering when you'd come!" A boy with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes exclaimed. He looked about Mirllyne's age. "Come with me."_

_He dragged her by the hand and began to run. Mirllyne laughed as they reached a river and sat down on a large rock._

"_So, how've things been?" She asked, taking off the cloak. "You didn't get into much trouble with your sword practice, did you, Arthur?" She ruffled her wings and a few feathers fell. Arthur picked one up and played with it in his fingers._

"_It's been wonderful, Mirllyne…except I have one problem." Arthur said, now playing with another feather. _

"_What is it? Can I help?" Mirllyne demanded. Arthur laughed at her._

"_Okay, are you sure?"_

"_I'M POSITIVE!"_

"_Positively positive?"_

"_Yes, you mindless goon. Of course I can help! I'm the angel of fire!"_

"_Will you marry me?"_

_Mirllyne gasped at him. He was holding a gold ring in his hand with a ruby on it. She flung her arms around him and hugged him._

"_Yes, of course…I love you, Arthur…" Mirllyne said, kissing him. They kissed for quite a while. He slid the ring on her finger and they sat together._

"That's it?" Kim demanded. "I was hoping for…"

"Watch." Mirllyne commanded.

_It was days later. Mirllyne was leaving again to go to the river. She got off her flames and ran to the river, expecting Arthur to be there. As she drew closer, she saw a thin trail of red. Her pace quickened to a run._

_She reached the river. Written across the rock they'd been on were the words 'You have broken the highest taboo, and you have paid the price.'_

_Mirllyne felt the words. They were cold, but wet. Pale and shaking, she looked into the river. Arthur's lifeless form was sunken under the water, pale and covered in blood. A sob tore through the air as Mirllyne got him out. Tears fell from her eyes as she held his lifeless form. _

"_Poor, poor, little angel…" A voice said behind her. It was a strange angel with black wings and a scythe. "I'm afraid he is dead."_

_Mirllyne continued to weep, and eventually went back to heaven. She took Arthur with her. She brought him to the highest person she could think of – Chaos's son, Albireo. He smiled at her when he saw._

"_So, little angel Mirllyne has fallen in love. How touching." He said. "Well, Death has already met him. He's gone, and so are you."_

"_What do you mean?" Mirllyne's voice was frantic. She was in shock, and was now panicking. "What in Kami-sama's name do you mean?"_

"_You've fallen. You broke the angelic laws, Mirllyne. Your post as the angel of fire is gone. Have fun on Earth." Albireo said cruelly. Mirllyne continued to sob even as she was transported back to Earth with all her possessions. She laid Arthur down with them and went to the river. There lay his sword, the sword he had worked so hard with. She picked it up and held it in her hands._

"_I'll have revenge for this, just watch." Mirllyne swore, holding the sword up. "Or I shall kill myself."_

The orb shrunk to its normal size. Mirllyne sat silently in her seat.

"That wasn't even all of it. Shortly after, they thought D.S. was an accomplice to the Epidemic of Shadow and locked her soul away. Hell rose when Albireo was killed. Tsukasa was still too young to take over, so Chaos had to rule until she was a reasonable age. Even before that, when I was still young…there was an event that took place that changed our lives forever." Mirllyne finally whispered. Her voice gained emotion as she finished her sentences.

"Kage means 'shadow' in Japanese." Joe noted. "That must mean…"

"Joe, I hope you take this in the best way possible. Your mother was so very kind. She helped so many people, including myself, through everything. But her angelic power went to her head later on." Pandora said. Her nose was stuffed up, so she sounded quite funny. "Your mother, the angel Kage, was the angel of disease. She forced people to become sick, then refused to cure them because of her own fears. Those fears were for you. Shortly after beginning the epidemic, she had sex with a human. When she was discovered to be behind the illnesses, she was locked into ice for three hundred years, also freezing you with her. When she was let out, it was time for your birth. She sold one of the last things she had – a ruby star – to a priest and had you on the steps of the very same church. She died because she had been drained of power, and drained of energy. But Joe, she loved you. All Kage wanted was to save _you_."

Joe couldn't find his voice. Maybe it was because reality had just slapped him in the face. His parents hadn't hated him. Or at least his mother hadn't. She'd died to save him from certain death. It was a good reason to not have a voice.

-&-&-&-

The next day, Joe seemed to have regained his voice and Pandora's magic was back at a low level. Both seemed minimally more happy for this reason. But the main reason for celebration was Mirllyne's newfound ecstasy. The previous night, Poseidon told her that he knew where Polaris was. Ninety degrees north, where the star Polaris was. But it wouldn't be easy getting her out. She'd been frozen beneath the ice.

"I don't care," Mirllyne finally snapped to Panthos. "I updated this damn piece of trash, so I can pilot it if I damn want to."

"Could you tell me something?" Panthos asked. His evil smiled appeared. "Do angels PMS?"

Mirllyne stuck up her middle finger. "Do guys PMS?"

Panthos scowled at her and repeated the motion.

"Oh, come on." Pandora muttered in passing. "Grow up, you two."

-&-&-&-

Jessica Scarl was eleven years old, if you didn't count the years she'd spent in cryogenic suspended animation. In reality, she was eighteen, because those seven years were lost. She'd already had to watch the death of two of her sisters, her father, and her mother. Her left arm was completely robotic, ever since Project Meteor.

"Jessica! Wait up!" Arien called. Jessica turned around, seeing the angel hurry to catch up with the help of her wings. "Marco said your arm's been giving you trouble. If you'd let me, I can help. I'm good with…"

"No…I'll live. It only hurts as bad as when I got the last four piercings in the cartilage of my ears." Jessica said with the look that it really did hurt, and she was just too mule-headed to admit it. Arien turned her around and locked eyes.

"It _does _hurt, Jessica. I can see it in your eyes. Being over a thousand years old helps, too." Arien said. "Here, let me see it."

Unwillingly, Jessica held her arm out to the angel. Arien laid a hand onto the cold metal and a blue light sparkled over it.

"Is it really that hard for humans to ask for help?" Arien asked.

-&-&-&-

"MARK TIME HUT!" The TV screamed. There were four clicks, then a song began to play. Sadie sat with her feet tucked under her, watching it. This taped thing had been her last football game to play at as a high school student. As soon as Epona entered the room, she flicked it off.

"Mirllyne any better?" Sadie asked, craning her neck to look at Epona. Epona nodded.

"Much. She's picked up some new words, like fuck, shit, damn, and crap. Any ideas on what she's using them for?" Epona answered. "Pandora, in case you're going to ask, just managed to re-wipe out her magic. Oh yeah, she's planning on explaining Yami and Hikari. Did Mirllyne tell you about those two?"

Sadie stood up and twirled her earrings in their holes. "Yeah, I remember those two. They were like Prometheus and Pandora, but the angels' version of it. They spawned the black and white angels, correct?"

"That's about it. What were you watching?" Epona asked.

"Oh…just something. In any case, did Mirllyne finally convince you to go to the North Pole?" Sadie replied as they began to walk.

"That's where we're going," Epona muttered in a detached sort of way. "I don't want to go there. Polaris is there. But they didn't bury her without a good reason…"

"What was that reason?" Sadie asked, her curiosity probed wide open.

"She and her sister D.S. are the only two children of Yami and Hikari." Epona explained.

-&-&-&-

"Tell me what you did to me." Pandora ordered. She lay back in her own bed. Poseidon sat next to her, laughing. Pandora would have screamed and kicked him, but her magic was gone again and she was feeling no better. However, her hair had grown at an alarming rate since a few days ago. As a matter of fact, it had grown a whole two and a half feet.

"I didn't do anything, I swear," Poseidon said. Mirllyne entered the room.

"Whoa, what the hell happened to your hair?" Mirllyne asked, agape at the length of the braid that dangled from the bed.

"I think I can explain," Omega said, poking her head out from behind Mirllyne. "We've all begun to change back to God and Goddess forms. I mean, look…" She tore off her sweatshirt, "At this."

Mirllyne, who had never before seen Omega without her sweatshirt, watched intently. In fact, it highlighted her much better. Underneath was a black shirt, held up by two golden rings on either side, and on her left arm, an omega symbol drawn in black and silver ink.

"…Awesome! Where'd you get it?" Mirllyne said. Omega frowned.

"I hate it." She said. "But I'm forced to wear it until this entire ordeal is over. And never, and I mean _ever_, will you see me with the jeans off and the other part of this damned thing."

"I _so _love seeing you without pants, Omega, you have no idea," Poseidon said, his smile widening. Omega narrowed her eyes and turned. She left the room, swinging her sweatshirt from her middle finger. "She's right."

-&-&-&-

"They're coming." Xiaka said. "You know, I hate those shitheads now more than I ever had before. Especially Mirllyne."

"Most of us do," Kummi agreed. She drew a circle around herself on the ice and held up her arms. Symbols flashed all over the circle and swirled around the angel. Her flames were now fully charged once more. "Nirine, you still alive over there?"

"I wish I wasn't, but I am." Nirine answered. "I have Clarissa with me, in case we happen to need her."

Clarissa looked to be about fifteen years old with inky black hair and bright green eyes. She had bright blue streaks in various places in the black mess of hair, and was dressed for this arctic outing. What was she was there for? Clarissa had been enslaved because she lived in Lunapolis, and now had her magic freely raided by angels whenever they had need. If she didn't give it to them, she was beaten. Tears fell from her eyes, and stung her bruised cheeks as they turned to ice.

"We will." Enala said. "Hey Arien, do you know if Pierre's coming or not? He said he was, but I need to be certain."

"Yes, he should be here shortly. Clarissa, start setting up the hexagram. I do not want any delays when it comes time, even if I am not part of it." Arien snapped. Clarissa stood up, but her legs gave way and she fell back onto the ice.

"You heard her, get busy." Kummi snarled, slapping Clarissa across her face. If Clarissa had any will of her own left; she would have slapped Kummi right back. Instead, she stood despite the pain and began to draw the intricate circles and patterns.

-&-&-&-

"…So Yami and Hikari are the angels' version of Prometheus and Pandora?" Enx asked, after listening to Pandora (in her hoarse voice) explain the oldest of the angel's folktales.

"Right." Epona said. "And this whole reversion thing is starting to bug the _crap _out of me. Omega, I could not agree with you more."

As much as she had tried, Epona's hair stubbornly stayed out of its braid and had gotten the tendency to have little flowerbuds in it, and they changed every four hours or so. In this, she also wore a far too big shirt (well, the sleeves came four inches past her fingers) the color of a sunrise.

"You mean about Clarissa and Mango?" Omega asked. "And about…"

"No, no. About these damn clothes." Epona said. "Pandora, do you feel well enough to go out?"

"Let me go out, **please**. Get me out of here. I'm going insane." Pandora begged. At that exact moment, Poseidon entered the living room to see her pleading with Epona. He hadn't escaped the wave of change. His glasses were gone.

"You still have a fairly high fever," Omega said. "Poseidon, is her…holy crap, you without glasses…is her magic still low?"

Poseidon shrugged. "Yeah, I miss them. I like my glasses. But Pan's magic is still very low. Whatever this bug is, it seems to really hate her. But sure, let's bring her out with us in any case. Who knows, she could prove useful."

"Are you serious?" Pandora asked, looking Poseidon straight in his deep blue eyes. She was almost scared to, since he didn't have his classic glasses on. He smiled widely at her.

"Yeah, come on. What's the worst that could happen?" Poseidon answered.

"Apparently, I'm not in this dialogue any more," Enx said, standing up. The others simply stayed to watch the mildly amusing scene between the four members of Generation Zero.

"Uhh…I could dream up a few." Omega said, rolling her eyes. "But I won't name them. Besides, what the hell are you without your glasses? Fucking psychotic?"

"That sounds abut right." Poseidon said, stacking a Cheshire Cat-like grin on top of it all. "It's _ice_, Omega. Ice melts to make water. We have the angel of fire and the God of the ocean. Let's think hard on this matter!"

"Yes, let's." Epona remarked sharply. "Pandora has a cold, and it could be something worse. We're headed to the North Pole. In case you haven't noticed, sir genius, it's FREEZING there! And **what **are we about to do? Bring her out into it, and let her get hypothermia or pneumonia or WORSE!"

"I hate to say it, Poseidon, but Omega and Epona are correct. We don't know what's wrong with Pandora, and even if we did, it wouldn't be safe to take her into the arctic in her condition." Fate said. "Besides, how long as it been since this has hit her?"

Poseidon scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe a day, give or take an hour. Why?"

"Just wondering," Fate murmured. "I guess I'm wrong. Nothing wrong."

"After we rescue Polaris, I need to go to Lunapolis and Heliopolis," Epona mentioned. "I have one angel I need to see, as does Omega."

"Oh, you mean Death, don't you?" Mirllyne said in a sour tone. Something told Lily that Death was the angel who'd told Mirllyne Arthur was dead.

-&-&-&-

It swung back and forth, back and forth…

Then stopped.

Stopped.

The girl with the hazel eyes and black hair dropped the watch. She stood up.

"Polaris…where have you gone?"

The watch twinkled in the bright sun as it plunged into the ocean far, far below.

-&-&-&-

"Joe?" D.S. was on Joe's shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of the tiny girl. "Very soon now…I'm going to have to go back to normal. They'll all be able to see me…my wings…my…"

"Are you an angel or something?" Joe demanded. D.S. evacuated the warm spot on his shoulder and floated in front of him.

"A time comes for everything." D.S. snapped. She vanished in a blur of black. Joe was even more confused now. First she was French, then she was American, what next? German? Maybe then he could pawn her off on Albert. But he somehow knew he couldn't. She had chosen him. Then a horrid thought arose.

"OY, JOE!" Sadie's voice rang like a bell around his head. "We're outta here! Mirllyne's gone psychotic, Omega and Epona are seeing who can kill the angels first, and…well, you don't want to know."

Joe finished his way down the hall and the door to the control room slid open. It was quite an interesting scene outside. Mirllyne had Excalibur out and was stabbing it into the ice wherever she could. Then Arien saw her. Arien kicked a girl sitting next to her, and the girl stood up and blasted Mirllyne with her own magic.

He decided upon going out and not missing the party. Out right before him were Fate and Albert.

"Oh, Joe…if only I could tell you what was about to happen." Fate sighed. She flung herself out of the Dolphin and into the ice and snow. "I will not tell you exactly, but be prepared for something entirely unexpected."

"But it won't be unexpected," Joe said, "You've already warned me."

"No…I've hardly done such. You must remember, I was a child when Lunapolis still existed. I li…" Fate stopped short. "THOSE BITCHES! I'LL _MURDER _EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM!"

She sprang off the Dolphin and hit the ground running. Fate raised an arm and threw it outward once again with an emerald glow around it. She was impervious to everything that was happening around her. She had one goal: the girl casting her spell on Mirllyne, the one being beaten up by the group of angels.

"It's only Fate," Kummi sneered, melting a great mass of ice and leaving the rest up to Xiaka. Xiaka sent it flying at Fate, who deftly blocked it with a shield. Fate continued her sprint until she was face-to-face with Arien.

"You're dead," Fate barked. Mirllyne gave Arien a knockout blow, but no permanent damage would be caused. The girl next to her, the girl with the blue streaks in her hair, sank back down to the ice in tears.

"Clarissa, you're fine." Fate said, kneeling next to the girl as Mirllyne darted off.

"You don't understand, Fate," Clarissa sobbed. "The angels at Lunapolis are looking to kill me. They think I betrayed them. I have no more magic. These angels stole it all from me."

"Come with me. We'll take you somewhere safe."

"Nowhere isn't safe."

"Where's Mango, Ellie, and Lusia?"

"Mango's working on linking Yggdrasil to the mainframe with Ellie's help, and Lusia is also a magic slave."

Fate looked up. "Well, we came to get Polaris, but I guess we can take you and find you somewhere to stay until it's safe."

Like Clarissa had said, nowhere wasn't safe. Nowhere was exactly where Tsukasa wanted them.

-&-&-&-

"Kage's little kid," Xiaka laughed. "I heard they told you. Well, does it make you happy that your mother was the most feared angel ever?"

Joe hated Xiaka. She giggled and sent only more water flying. He threw himself into acceleration mode. Joe could see the water as it crashed against the Dolphin and as Poseidon slowed it down further. Seconds later, he left acceleration mode to find himself right next to a sword-slinging Mirllyne.

"YOU DID IT, YOU BITCH!" Mirllyne screamed, launching an attack on Kummi. Kummi was barely able to defend herself with the blue flames.

"I DIDN'T! YOU DID IT YOURSELF!" Kummi roared back. The ice beneath their feet began to melt. Something was shining brilliantly. Joe could read Kummi's face. She knew what was about to happen.

"So long, I hate your fucking guts." Mirllyne said, grabbing Kummi and slamming her through the ice. "Joe, you wanna finish her for good?"

"No…but what the hell is that?" Joe said. The shining thing was rising from its prison. Xiaka jumped in front of them and cackled.

"Not with me around," Enx hissed, directing her arms through the freezing waters to slap Xiaka silly. Once she recalled her arms, Joe snapped one of Xiaka's wrists back on itself, just out of pure spite.

"You forgot one," Nirine whispered. Joe dug his fingers into his head. A deep sleep was threatening him to fall into the shining thing. But just as it was about to, a girl materialized in front of him. She wore a long black skirt, black boots with rounded toes, a tight navy blue shirt that covered her entire upper half. The hair tied into a high ponytail was blacker than midnight.

"YOU WON'T TOUCH HIM!" Joe knew that voice.

This was D.S.. She ran across the ice and threw both arms up and intertwined them. "TWELVE MIDNIGHT!"

Nirine fell deeply asleep. D.S. turned around. She looked the same as always…except bigger.

"Hey Joe, who's that?" Kim demanded. As she said it, a set of wings errupted from D.S.'s back. The right was snowy white, but the left was as black as her hair was. The shining thing behind her had now risen from the ice. The light pulled itself inward, then burst out to reveal another girl.

This girl had long (it could be waist-length) black hair with numerous silver streaks in it. Her attire was much like D.S.'s, a black skirt, black boots, but her shirt was loose and the sleeves were too long, plus it was splashed with diamonds. Her wings were the reverse of D.S.'s. The left was white, the right was black. As she opened her eyes, the group could see that the left was sapphire blue and the right ruby red.

"I DIDN'T DO IT! I SWEAR, I'M INNOCENT!" She shrieked. Then she caught sight of D.S. "D.S….how many years has it been?"

"You've been in there for three hundred years." D.S. replied. The girl shook her head and gently jumped from the air, ruffling her wings in the process. "Joe, I'd like you to meet my older sister, Polaris."

Joe froze. "Wait…Mirllyne…Polaris…what the hell is going on here?"

"I think I'll be able to clear a few things up." This new girl, Polaris, said. "I gave Mirllyne my watch to look after. Within it is D.S.'s soul, which the angelic court locked away three hundred years ago. You see, I am the angel of the stars, but my sister is the angel of time. As you know, you are Kage's son. I was accused of helping your mother, so I was locked down here and D.S.'s soul was removed. The only reasons we were judged upon were the facts that we were a rare case of twin angels, and the only two children of Yami and Hikari."

"So…Xiaka was…" Joe stammered.

"Yes. Your mother, overnight, became the most feared thing under the and above the heavens. She's right up there next to my own parents." Polaris answered, taking a few steps closer to him. "Yes, Yami and Hikari were the greatest feared angels next to Kage."

-&-&-&-

Tsukasa was only to be disturbed if something major happened. But when she was, the guards outside had been warned by Zaffiel personally. They wouldn't like what they saw, or what happened to them. So when news reached the base on Madagascar that the angels had all been defeated, Tsukasa sprinted down the hall to find Pierre.

"What the hell," Tsukasa hissed, "Were you thinking? You knew Polaris was down there! You knew about D.S.! I could kill you right here and now, bastard, but I won't. Get me Ellie and Mango, now."

Pierre made a face, covered it up quickly, and turned to get the two girls. Tsukasa sat down to wait for him. Five minutes later, two girls emerged, followed by Pierre.

"Mango and Ellie," Tsukasa said in her sweetest voice. "Have you finished her yet? We don't have forever."

Mango had red-orange-blond hair. Her light brown eyes spoke clearly of too little sleep, too little food, too much work, and too much harassment. However, she nodded. "The electric angel is complete, Miss Tsukasa."

"Have you decided upon a name for it yet?" Tsukasa asked.

"As a matter of fact…we've decided upon the name for her. It's Etoile." Ellie said. "You understand why, correct?"

-&-&-&-

Fate was talking with Clarissa when the rest of the crew returned. Clarissa was sobbing as she told something to Fate.

"But…real angels aren't enough!" Clarissa whined. "We were building an electric one…Tsukasa was mad at us for not working fast enough…"

"An electric angel?" Polaris asked. "What…Tsukasa grown…time has changed. I guess we have you to thank for that, D.S.."

"No. I haven't been able to move until very recently." D.S. replied. "I've been locked in that damn watch."

"What would Tsukasa want with an electric angel?" Fate asked Clarissa.

"She wants…she wants…oh, it's terrible. She wants to bring back her brother." Clarissa whispered. To about a third of the people in the room, it sounded like she said, 'She wants to raise hell and give it to someone else'.

"What's so special about her brother?" Tirzah asked, confused.

"Albireo was the most powerful of Chaos' family. He killed tens of thousands of angels in his time, but he remained unbound by laws. He could snap his fingers, if he wanted, and make the sky crush us all to pieces. When he was killed by Etoile, Polaris' predecessor, black and white angels alike rejoiced." Epsilon said. He hadn't spoken in a long time, and it was a surprise to hear him do it now. "But when Chaos discovered this, he instantly brought Tsukasa in to begin her rule. Her first order of business was to eliminate Etoile. She did."

"They're naming her Etoile…" Clarissa sighed, then fainted. Fate looked at her with a very sorry attitude.

-&-&-&-&-

SO SORRY! AP classes stink…especially chemistry.


	7. Electric Angel

So many things…beware flying objects from the left side of your monitor. Thank you. Oh yeah, I almost screwed up the laws of the angels with the laws of the people of Carteli…but they're from two different stories XD. I don't own Cyborg 009…no one but the angels, really…

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Six: Electric Angel

**FINAL CHAPTER of Movement One: End of the Beginning**

-&-&-&-&-

A pair of midnight blue eyes opened. They could see a lot of metal, but not very much else. Their owner stood up and continued to observe the room. In it was a table, a set of drawers, a small closet, and an adjoined bathroom. There was also a floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall. The person looked into it.

So, she was a girl. She had waist-length midnight blue hair with multiple silver streaks that curled into ringlets at the ends. Someone had dressed her in a pair of dark blue jeans, a black knit sweater, and black socks. As she turned around, she could see that two holes were ripped in the sweater to make room for two pale blue wings to fold outward. As she looked at her hands and flexed them, her bangs fell into her eyes.

"_She's awake. Repeat, project Etoile has awakened." _Something said in her head. The same thing had told her her name.

_My name is Etoile, _Etoile thought. _But what am I?_

-&-&-&-

"For the last time, I didn't take your damn piece of cake!" Jet exclaimed, facing the death penalty from Tie otherwise. She had been hell-bent on showing Luke how to fight, and this was the perfect opportunity.

"Give me proof!" Tie demanded. That cake was _hers_! And plus, she would have shared it. With Luke, of course, not Jet. Maybe if he begged and pleaded, yes.

"Oh, crap. That cake was yours?" Panthos asked, entering at the exact moment Tie began to charge. She stopped instantly to look at him. "Wait, no! I didn't eat it! What I mean is…uh…the toilet ate it! Yeah!"

Seconds later, Panthos was running from Tie, flaming fists and all.

"It was about time someone ate it," Omega commented. "It's been in there for ages. And Pandora, are you sure you're alright?"

Pandora could hardly nod.

"No, you're not. This isn't a cold, or even a bad case of the flu. You have something worse." Omega snapped in reply, as if she knew this were Pandora's answer. "It's magical, I'll bet Panthos' ass on it…hey, ISV! Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

ISV walked over, carrying a bunch of papers with strange drawings and a lot of writing on them. "I've been thinking the same thing. See, these are all the details of the memory Joe and Francoise had." She waved a stack of about ten papers. "And this…" She held up the rest of the drawings and scribbles (or they were, to Omega), "Is what's been happening to Pandora."

"Uh…no offense or anything…but what's this supposed to mean?" Omega asked, turning her head to see if she could understand the pages from a different angle. However, they were still gibberish to her.

"You know how to read it," ISV said.

-&-&-&-

"Most of the black, or as I prefer, dark, angels, are named as things. Like Death, Sorrow, Joy, Fear, and things like that." Polaris explained to a group of sad, undereducated cyborgs. Sadie was simply silent as she tapped away on the laptop.

"What's with you?" Jet demanded.

"Trying not to violate canon." Sadie grunted. "Mika's got me under laws. So shut up, and never use any zero-zero numbers higher than thirteen. The police will come after you and might rape you."

Jet just blinked. "_Rape_? Sure. Just stick to canon."

"I suddenly find myself happy Mika chose to make us angels," Polaris confided in her sister.

"OKAY, BACK TO THE FIC!" Mika's voice shouted out of nowhere. D.S. looked a little shaken.

"From what I've learned from D.S., most of the dark angels are in Lunapolis and the light angels are in Heliopolis, if not trying to break into Heaven. Before you ask, D.S. knows because she is half of each. On normal cases, I would do that, but I have been buried under ice." Polaris said calmly, as if this had never taken place. "Mirllyne, you once knew Death quite well, did you not?"

"Yes, but it was a very, _very _long time ago." Mirllyne answered. "I see what you want to know. The angels behind the glass can be revived by her touch, but only if major war had broken out. But now…" A new look dawned on her face, one of absolute realization. "There are no laws binding us now. The only problem is getting through the gates."

"They can't be guarded too well," Enx said, "From what I've heard, no one's there to protect Heaven. The angels are all planning revenge on someone or another. It's most likely that they've been pitted against one another."

-&-&-&-

"So this is the new Etoile," Tsukasa said, walking around Etoile and examining her. "I want Joanna in here as soon as possible. Get Lusia while you're at it too. I want to know how well they built her. Get one of those horny guy angels."

"Isn't that going a little too far?" Zaffiel asked. "Why would one need to know things like that?"

"I wanted a perfect clone of Etoile," Tsukasa replied, playing with Etoile's hair. "The only thing false about her is that she's robotic. Joanna can spar, Lusia can test her flexibility…and who did you say was coming in? The reason I want to know is because Etoile was a prostitute."

"You called?" A thin girl with a small black braid demanded. She leaned against the doorframe with her light green eyes focused on Zaffiel. Her clothes were only a pair of bicycle shorts and a workout tank top.

"Joanna. This is Etoile. Spar with her and test how well she was modeled." Tsukasa ordered. Joanna flexed her limbs out.

"My name's Jojo, not Joanna." Jojo said, racing into the room and swiping a low blow to Etoile's knees. Instantly, Etoile returned the strike with a higher kick of her own.

As they fought, a girl with light pink hair (obviously dyed) and almond brown eyes came into the room. Tsukasa acknowledged her presence.

"Wait until they're done. I want you to see if she's flexible." Tsukasa snapped.

-&-&-&-

"So, you mean to tell us that we're going to Heliopolis? Aren't there light angels there?" Tirzah stated.

"White angels who have committed one of the seven sins, if not more, have rallied under Tsukasa and Chaos' family." D.S. said. She pulled a piece of hair out of the way from her right ear. "See, I've committed the sins of sloth and envy. The emerald represents envy and the amethyst is sloth. You see…there are seven sins you can commit: lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, pride, greed, and sloth. Each time an angel commits one, he or she has her ear pierced with a stone the color of the sin."

"What you're saying now is that angels _can _be imperfect?" Tirzah asked once more. "But…I thought that angels were the ultimate form of perfection?"

"You heard wrong, and are sadly mistaken." Mirllyne said. "Angels are far from perfect. The closest ones to ever even get near perfection were Prometheus and Pandora, and even at that they were terribly far away. It's a very complicated web. I'll explain it more to you later on in this fic."

And suddenly, out of the complete randomness of this story alone, Mika appeared in her pajamas and her hair up in a towel. "God damn it, I know we're trying to kill the plot bunnies and Sues…BUT WE MUST _STICK TO THE STORY! _That is all." With that, the crazed teen vanished once more to leave the room, for the second time this chapter.

"If she insists," Sadie said with a deep sigh. "Anyway, I think I've just found something out. But you'll have to ask me later. I have to do something right now."

She clicked her laptop shut. With a smile and a wink, she strode from the room with the laptop and its data tucked under her arm.

"I don't want to know," Kim said. "What gave her that idea?"

-&-&-&-

"That's as close as your going to get…as soon as you pierce those ears of hers." Enala praised Tsukasa. Tsukasa cast her gaze to the robot standing next to her, and Etoile smiled in return.

"Which sins?" Tsukasa asked. "Or do you know? I doubt we could get into the hall even if we tried…forget I said that. Lust's little brother; is he still alive?"

"You mean Epsilon?" Enala asked. "Yes, he's still alive. And with our other targets, if this reads the way I think it does. The beginning and end are travelling with him. I hate to say this, but it's like they're inviting us to come in and attack."

"Which sins?" Tsukasa repeated herself.

"Lust, greed, pride…that's ruby, emerald, and aquamarine." Enala answered directly this time. Pointing to Etoile, she said, "Are you going to do it right here? I know that I had mine done in the Forbidden Chamber of Death's Hall…"

"We can't really get in there right now," Tsukasa noted. "They're keeping close guard up until Prometheus and Pandora are either safe or dead. I've been banned because I've been a bad little girl." An evil smile spread across her face. "But with Etoile here, I think we can change things. You do remember my older brother?"

Enala's face contoured into something of surpressed hatred, but she nodded. "My sister was nearly murdered by him. We both have the same scar from it. I'm sure you're familiar with the reason?"

"You're twins," Tsukasa answered, now holding a sharp, thin knife in her hand. "The first pair of twin angels in ten thousand years. And your designations are far away. So, I'm not very surprised. What does shock me…" She punctured the lobe of Etoile's false ear, "Sorry if it hurt. What shocks me is that Fiella isn't a black angel. Romance is a dark thing. It hurts more."

Enala was silent as Tsukasa twisted the ruby post into Etoile's ear. If Etoile could feel it, she would have screamed. But the mechanical doll was as silent as she'd been since she'd woken up. Not a single word had come from her artificially soft lips, only kind gestures of her hands and face. She was absolutely silent. Even when she'd been ruthlessly toyed with, she'd never protested. Etoile was indeed flawless – flawless as something you'd use as a toy that said whatever you wanted it to. The aquamarine and emerald posts went in shortly after. Tsukasa backed up to survey her work.

"Now, Etoile…as your last test…speak." Tsukasa ordered. Etoile looked resolutely at her, eyes set.

"You can start by giving me more sex. Then we'll move on to more piercings. And what shall I do after that?" Etoile mused. Enala shook her head.

"My sister is gonna love you, and so are all the other guys on this base." Enala brooded. Tsukasa, on the other hand, burst into laughter.

"Oh, you're brilliant!" Tsukasa exclaimed. "All I want out of you is your power to restore my brother and to gain access to Heaven. Hard?"

"No, not really. I'll hold up my end as long as you hold up yours. Do we have a deal?" Etoile said, hands moving around her hips. Within seconds, thanks to Enala's link to her, Fiella entered the office.

"My sister doesn't lie!" Fiella exclaimed. "Come with me, Etoile. You don't mind, Miss Tsukasa?"

"No, I don't. Don't break her in, though." Tsukasa said in monotone. "You can all leave now."

"Fiella…they _did _program her to be a slut…just don't overdo it, okay?" Enala warned her sister, who was already comparing herself to the robot.

"Oh, no…I won't. I'll just show her how the cyborgs like to be flashed." Fiella said, with a wink and a flash. Enala turned and walked the other direction as she heard her sister jump onto a random guard. She felt bad for the poor guy.

-&-&-&-

"Hey, Sadie!" Epona called. Sadie turned to face her as she left the bathroom and waved energetically. "I need a _huge _favor. Could you possibly get more brown hair dye? I need it really, really bad."

Sadie put on a puzzled expression. "You mean…your hair isn't naturally that color? Well, that's nice, isn't it? Next thing you know, you're gonna tell me you're…" She cut herself off at the startled look upon Epona's features. "Epona, what else are you hiding aside from your hair color?"

The hair dye appeared in Epona's hands. She looked up to Sadie and then ran. Sadie didn't bother chasing her. She knew that in approximately…

"Where's the fire so I can burn this piece of crap!" Ra's angry shout came. Sadie smiled bemusedly. She continued her walk back to the shared room, wondering what Epona was hiding under her false brown hair. Other thoughts flitted through her mind, but none was as interesting as that.

"So, what happened this time?" Riko's amused voice asked. "We could hear Ra screaming about this damned piece of shit. Do you have any idea what happened, or did you cause it?"

"I didn't start it." Sadie stated flatly.

"That's nice to know." Riko replied. She flopped back again onto her bed. "Do you know if Omega has figured out what Pandora has yet? It's getting a little weird. I mean, all of them are changing."

"Mika hates me, so I have to be a good little girl and not know anything. And no, Omega, the last I saw her, was playing strip poker with Panthos." Sadie informed Riko. Riko kicked her legs up in the air in frustration.

"We're going nowhere. We're doing nothing." Riko said. "It seems like a death wish, but I want something to fucking happen!"

"Thought I heard voices," OV muttered, the door opening to reveal her slim frame. "As a matter of fact…Omega finally deciphered my sister's diagrams. And as it turns out…Pandora, some how, managed to get a strain of the Shadow disease. Seems a little strange because it's been gone for three hundred years. My sister, however, has other thoughts. She thinks that because Joe is Kage's son, he carried the disease. And, since most of us are only humans without the God gene, and Pandora…well…"

Out of nowhere, Eleanor appeared. Of course, nowhere was her changing from a pillow into her human form. She sat on the bed and simply watched OV.

"So, Joe is carrying a deadly disease. We're all going to die. Time to get out the booze and celebrate." Eleanor said.

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" OV added hastily. "We're not even certain yet! It could be something entirely different! So…don't get your hopes up yet."

Eleanor stood up. "I've never had any real hope. So, how could I get something up that I don't already have?"

-&-&-&-

"Come on, Pandora. One or the other, or both are coming." Poseidon said.

"I hate you." Pandora snapped weakly. "Why, pray tell, do you have to have _them _come? Why not your sisters?"

"My sisters are more obsessed with other things," Poseidon mumbled. "Besides, those two know every kind of illness there is. I'm not very good with those things. So, which one? Zeus or Hades?"

Pandora rolled over. "I really, really hate you, Poseidon."

"Thank you, love. Now an answer, if you wouldn't mind." Poseidon said, rolling her back over and tying her braid into a knot.

"Hades." Pandora muttered. In a flash of light, another male was in the room with her. To be specific, two were. "I said _one_, you idiot! Not both!"

"Awww, come on, Pandora!" The boy with silvery hair and deep blue eyes laughed. "I'm not _that _terrible! In bed, at least…"

"Po-_sei_-don…" Pandora hissed.

"So this is the Pandora that stole our little brother's heart," The other one, the one with black hair and the same blue eyes noted. He, too, laughed. "I was wondering which one it was."

Pandora fumed silently to herself as the two brothers laughed.

"I'm sorry, but Zeus and Hades are a package deal." Poseidon sighed. He, too, began to laugh.

"What is going on back here?" Polaris asked, poking her red eye in on them. "Oh…Zeus and Hades. I beg your pardon, sirs." She curtsied gracefully.

"Hey, Polaris. We're out and so are you, so no need for any of that shit." Zeus said, waving the angel off.

"You, too, then…times are horrid." Polaris answered, rising and flicking her hair away from her face. "Tell me something. Are the sins still there?"

"All seven of them, still frozen. Now tell us: where's your sister?" Hades asked.

"Oh, she's here." Polaris said.

"Really? I thought the job Arien and Albireo did was permanent…unless…" Zeus said, scratching his head. ((hey look, it rhymes!)) "Pandora, I know what's wrong."

-&-&-&-

Etoile slashed her way through the jungle. Her breathing was harsh, as her various cogs and workings needed oxygen to function properly. Tsukasa watched happily from the cameras around the island, pleased with what this experiment had yielded. She was still too young to have met some of the other angels, but with Zaffiel, she could create more like Etoile. They could be like superpowered cyborgs…only better.

"She's impressive, that she is." Zaffiel confirmed, also watching. "With her, we'll have what we need in no time. Do you still want your brother back?…"

Tsukasa's head snapped to look at the angel. "Of course. That's the whole reason we built her, correct? I have an idea on how to test her."

"What is it?" Zaffiel asked.

Tsukasa gave a final glance to the screens. "I want Excalibur. That sword has more power than Mirllyne thinks it does. Albireo knew what it could do, but he never took it to use."

Zaffiel shifted her position in the chair she was seated in. "You won't be able to. It knows its mission. I think Mirllyne does, too, and Arthur did as well."

"Bite me." Tsukasa said, tossing her short hair over her shoulder.

"With pleasure."

-&-&-&-

"BOTH of them?" Omega asked, looking quite shocked. "Zeus and Hades. Hide me far away."

"How far?" Panthos asked, rolling over on the couch to face her.

"You shut up." Omega snapped. "You know what happened last time."

"You shut up." Panthos mimicked, poofing into a weird-looking Omega.

"We're _so _screwed," Epona groaned. She had the dye in her hair and was letting it set. "And I agree with Omega, Panthos. You shut up first."

"Neither of you are any fun." Panthos complained, returning to his normal look. "I've never doubted the fact that you two were twins."

"SHUT IT BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" Epona screamed, kicking Panthos. In a furious whisper, she added, "There's a reason I dye my hair. There's a reason I wear black and always use plants with my magic."

"Hey, that hurt." Panthos said. "I'll keep silent if neither of you hit me. Promise?"

"Look, it's Panthos!" Zeus called, entering. "And Alpha and Omega. I didn't know you two would be here.

"IT'S EPONA!" Epona and Omega screamed together. Zeus looked a little surprised.

"You're right, Panthos. They must share a telekinetic bond or something." Zeus said. "Whoa, incoming. We've got company."

Two seconds later, Lily screamed. She came flying down the hall and ran straight into Zeus. Looking up at him, she shoved him away.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Zeus demanded, holding a finger with lightning crackling from it toward her. Lily screeched.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" She squealed. By this time, Ra had emerged from whatever Ra did to look at the scene.

"This looks like a scene from a really gross lemon," She commented before striding down the hall. "Oh yeah, I heard that whole thing. Sisters, huh? That'd make an interesting drawing…" And mindlessly, she began to hum _Kokoro_.

"Who _are _all these people?" Zeus asked. "What are you doing here, and where are you going?"

"I can answer that." Deak said. "We're rebels from the Black Ghost Organization. You're on board a hijacked warship called the Dolphin. Fate tells me we're currently headed toward Lunapolis. Now, who in fucking hell might you happen to be?"

"My oldest brother," Poseidon said. "He's Zeus, and the other one is Hades."

(Someone's coming. We're landing.) Tie said.

"So…where are we landing?" Zeus asked, expecting a reply. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

"She can't hear you like that, idiot." Poseidon said. "You have to talk in your mind. Being around them isn't like being around normal people."

"No, it is not." Deak commented amusedly. "We're cyborgs."

"Then why do I get your messages?" Zeus asked. "It's like text messaging. Only the person you want to gets the message, but this is just crazy."

"You'll get used to it," Poseidon mumbled. "Eventually."

"And when would that be?" Zeus asked, giving his youngest brother a skeptical look.

(Never, if you don't shut the hell up.) Mirllyne said happily. Zeus grumbled something, then stalked off.

-&-&-&-

"Are you sure that was wise, Miss Tsukasa?" Zaffiel asked. "They have Zeus and Hades with them now. Etoile will be wiped out in an instant, that she will."

"Not if we are controlling her, and you're there with her." Tsukasa replied. "Now go, we don't have very long before they get to the gates of Lunapolis. I'll keep talking to you, and don't worry, Xiaka's already waiting with Etoile."

"If you insist," Zaffiel said. "But I expect something when I get back, that I do."

"It'll be worth your while," Tsukasa promised as Zaffiel vanished into a vortex of gray.

"Change, they're coming fast." Xiaka said. Her full angel uniform didn't do much to calm her ferocious spirit. The sleeves started off clinging to her thin arms, but widened as they fell. Spread over the entire blue-green main body of the top was a pale blue "X", but the shirt ended at her navel. A thick, soundly blue belt crossed down and held up a layer of thin, translucent blue fabric. Beneath it was a short deep blue skirt. The shoes of the uniform were only knee-high black lace-up boots with perfectly blue laces.

Etoile wore nothing special for the occasion. Zaffiel sighed. She hated her uniform with a passion. But nonetheless, she held a hand above her hand and let the magic rain down on her body.

"Remind me why I even bother," Zaffiel muttered. Whatever angel had designed this was stoned, she decided. But in reality, it was really quite lovely.

Zaffiel's hair was tied back into a ponytail and allowed the shortest rose strands to hang in her face. The sleeveless dress she wore was white, but a thin layer of gray material floated above it, like a shawl, since it ended at her waistline. The skirt had swirling patterns of purple and blue, and shot through them were jagged lines of yellow. To cover the bare chest of the uniform were shimmering spots of blue, and under the gray, looked like rain. Since the length of the skirt was so long, Zaffiel's feet were covered simply by bluish-colored three-inch stilettos. Her arms were decked by tattoos, and her ears had been pierced for the sins of lust, gluttony, envy, pride, greed, and sloth.

"Do you have any idea why Tsukasa chose this dump over Heliopolis?" Xiaka asked, flicking her hair behind her ears. "All the black angels are here. It bugs me."

"I have no idea, that I do," Zaffiel confirmed. "Etoile, what did Tsukasa send you on this for? Xiaka and I can handle this on our own."

"Miss Tsukasa sent me for reasons known only to herself." Etoile gave the final answer. She gave no hint that she was hiding anything.

"If that's all, then fine." Xiaka pouted.

"Watch, someone's coming." Zaffiel noted. She raised a finger and pointed to the landing Dolphin. "Oh, it's only them. Well, Etoile, feel free to help."

"Well, I can give you a damage report already. Zaffiel, Xiaka, and something that appears to be Etoile are here." Poseidon said. "No time like the present. Ready?"

"No need to invite me," Mirllyne said, bounding out. She and her sword moved as one body, bending and twisting at the same time. Zaffiel was a little surprised that she be unleashed so soon, but nonetheless called out her own weapon. It was simply a bo staff, five feet long, bound with cloth for better grip, decorated with patterns for increased ability. She counteracted Mirllyne's strike.

"Those two get along well." Etoile remarked. "Shall I scare the rest of you that are hiding in there, perhaps Pandora, or as a grand prize Prometheus?"

"Fine, fine, I'm out!" Poseidon shouted in response to the protests beneath him. As soon as he jumped out completely, Fate was out followed in short order by Joe.

"We don't even have to go fishing," Xiaka smirked, drawing a dagger from each boot. "They've brought what we need to us. Let's hurry it up and have some fun after we get what we came for."

In seconds, Xiaka and Zaffiel had swapped opponents and Etoile had submerged herself with attacking those still on board the Dolphin. The false blue-haired angel caused quite a reaction, and varied ones at that.

"Look, it's the fake Etoile. Tell me, who in the base is trying to fuck you right now?"

"How nice, they've sent us something to practice with."

"I'M GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOU FOR INTERRUPTING MY YURI!"

"I must really be dead…"

But outside, as one by one the occupants of the Dolphin unloaded, Mirllyne continued to slam her weapon against the agile blades of Xiaka and the thin and powerful staff of Zaffiel. However, with each blow Excalibur made or took, the blade and its little facetted stones would glow brighter with a light purely their own. With Mirllyne's own movements, she and the sword moved as if dancing, and with Poseidon's waves crashing to try and help her, looked staged at the gates of Lunapolis for a film company.

"That makes all of us," Hades said finally once Etoile had completely cleared the ship. On his back was Pandora, looking sad and utterly lost in this whole mess.

"Nice work. I can take over from here. You take the bitch, I'll take the two." Zaffiel commanded, twirling her staff. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I remember you, yes I do. Let's get straight to the point this time, shall we?"

With that, she jabbed her staff forward to point toward Joe. "We fight first for Miss Pandora, then Francoise, then your life. Is this acceptable?"

"It is." Joe agreed. Zaffiel put away her weapon.

"Yes, I agree. But I find it unhonorable to have an unfair advantage. You can use magic, giving us equal ground. However, I am an angel in a skirt and heels, and you are a cyborg. I think things will balance out once we get the sparks flying." Zaffiel added.

"It's not fair anyway," Kim said. "I'll take one of the fights."

"It is not your fight. Fight Etoile." Zaffiel replied before whirling around and kicking Joe. Etoile smiled at Kim.

"I'm not a helpless little child," Etoile said. She lunged for Kim with a pale blue glow around her left hand. Kim rose her own hand and fired an orange-red light toward the oncoming robot. Several others could understand that in seconds the fake angel would be nothing but a pool of unreactive liquid.

"Missed me," Etoile sang. "But I won't miss."

Kim clicked her acceleration switch just in time to avoid Etoile's attack. Now that she had the advantage of speed, she could get this piece of crap done away with. Kim slowed only for a second to watch Joe and Zaffiel, as well as Mirllyne and Xiaka.

Joe whirled and attempted a kick at Zaffiel, but she ducked and rose in time to give him a blow to the stomach. He registered it, but nonetheless, continued moving. At least it hadn't been her shoes, and he was thankful for that much.

(Use your magic,) Pandora advised. (And give the bitch _hell _from me.)

Joe focused his mind back to when Omega had told him how to access that tiny quadrant of magic he had. Once he found it, he pulled from the far corner it was buried in. Zaffiel took notice of the sudden change.

"Using magic now, are we?" The angel asked. "_This _makes things more fun. Be prepared, boy, to have your ass kicked by a girl."

A miniature storm cloud brewed above her hand. On her face a wicked smile was painted, and around the slim fingers of the other hand, lightning danced around. She fired the little storm cloud at him, and when he ducked, it didn't miss. It hit him straight on. In spite of his thoughts, a small rain cloud hurt very much. Zaffiel's smile widened.

"Some people choose to refine their magic into something more powerful. Some focus it into a certain area. It's hard, yet not impossible. Your magic has hardly been touched." Zaffiel said, observing the spectacle around her fingers.

Joe thrust a hand forward, and it was engulfed in a fiery red. Even after he stopped his hand, the red continued forward to Zaffiel. She barely had time to narrowly avoid it, so most of the blast hit one of Xiaka's wings. Xiaka screamed, turned around, and hit Joe with a focused shot of water. Joe stumbled back, but didn't let it get to him. He instead went straight for Zaffiel once more.

"You're an annoying little boy." Zaffiel said. She swirled around, kicked Joe, and hit him with a blue bang. "Didn't your parents ever teach you manners? Oh, I forgot! You don't _have _parents!"

"God…**damn**…you." Joe hissed. He charged toward Zaffiel and punched her in the face mercilessly. He kicked her. This time, it was Zaffiel's turn to stumble back. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. They were not on Earth, but storm clouds were gathering around Zaffiel.

"You will not," Fate whispered, running from behind and seizing Zaffiel. "You owe me, you _bitch_. You…it was you all along." Creamy beige light gathered at her fingers. "You were the one who lied. YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! YOU HURT MY ANGEL! I'M GOING TO **KILL **YOU!"

The light erupted from her fingers and sent Zaffiel flying against the wrought iron gates. Zaffiel lifted herself away, panting.

"Etoile…I know they built you for something…now…do it…" Zaffiel stammered. Etoile, completely forgetting everything else, seized Xiaka and sprang away. Fate, who was watching her, missed Zaffiel's disappearance.

"FOLLOW THEM!" Fate roared, already flying on her battered wings.

"Don't waste time. You can run, I'll make it possible." Zeus said. Omega took off with Epona right behind, and Epsilon next to them. Sadie turned, wanting to know if this was worth it, then sprinted away into the haze Zaffiel created.

-&-&-&-

"Miss Tsukasa, it's time." Arien said, bowing. "We're ready to leave as soon as it happens and they call."

"All will be well, Arien." Tsukasa said, repositioning herself. "I am ready as soon as they're all packed. It will be nice to live in Heaven again, don't you agree?"

Arien smiled. "It will be."

"Miss Tsukasa…she's about to do it." Fiella said, dashing into the room and racing back out. Tsukasa stood up and smiled.

"Tell Pierre and Marco that I'm leaving in under five." Tsukasa said, leaving Arien alone in her office. She strode briskly down the hall.

"Tsukasa. We're all loaded up. The angels are ready." Jessica said, joining Tsukasa in her walk.

"Good. I'll see you there, Jessica." Tsukasa said.

-&-&-&-

"What the hell are you doing to me?" Xiaka screamed, writhing against Etoile's hold.

"Good question. What the hell are they doing?" Poseidon asked, leaping down. "We're at the…oh…my…"

As the rest of the cyborgs ran up, they saw what he was marveling at. They were gates of pure gold, and behind them were rolling fields of tall grass and huge waterfalls cascading out of perfect mountains.

"Pity it's an illusion." Mirllyne said. "ETOILE, LET HER GO!"

"No…I won't be doing that, traitor." Etoile smirked, clenching a dagger. "I'm bringing Albireo back. We're returning to Heaven."

Xiaka fell still. Etoile smiled a purely evil grin.

"I may have issues with her, but Etoile, LET HER GO!" Mirllyne ordered. Xiaka laughed this time. It was an insane, panicked laugh, but one that knew its purpose.

"This may not be my choice, but I want it! I am the sacrifice to bring back Albireo!" Xiaka said. Etoile pulled the dagger across the angel's throat, and in seconds, her insane laughter drove the blood out of her body. Seconds later there was a fantastic flash of green, out of which stepped Tsukasa.

"Nicely done, Etoile." She said, smoothing the hair of the dead angel. She looked at Joe, then Pandora, then Francoise. "A pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Tsukasa, and I am the youngest daughter of Chaos. Soon you will meet my elder brother, Albireo. Zaffiel?"

Zaffiel appeared next to Tsukasa, fully healed of everything Fate had done. Etoile released Xiaka, and Tsukasa clapped her hands twice. Pale green light encircled her and Xiaka. Etoile's mouth moved in silent whispers, and a blue light was building itself up around her. The two lights grew so wide; they finally touched and mixed together.

"Albireo," Both voices whispered. Xiaka's body disintegrated, leaving only a necklace behind. In her place appeared a male. The blue and the green light rose further into the heavens and exploded in bang of black.

Albireo had returned.

Tsukasa laughed as Etoile burned a hole in the golden gates. "I hope you have fun in hell," She smirked and hugged her older brother. The entire group on onlookers was suddenly back at the gates of Lunapolis. Polaris and D.S. held one another, too scared to cry.

"He's back," Mirllyne said breathlessly. It wasn't because of the teleportation; it was because of _him_. Angry tears fell from her cheeks and her shoulders hitched as she sobbed.

"Why was he so bad, tell me." Lily asked in a kind voice.

"He…he's the one. He killed Arthur. He killed…all of _them_." Mirllyne answered. Excalibur withdrew itself back into the hilt.

"Them?" Lily asked.

"Them…his…ohhh…Epsilon, you understand?" Mirllyne offered. Epsilon nodded.

"I wouldn't say _killed_…more like _froze_. Locked their souls in the candles of the church and sealed the doors. He tried to throw me in there, all of us in there." Epsilon said, looking up.

"Who were they?" Jet demanded finally, patience having snapped.

"The seven sins." Pandora, Polaris, D.S., Epsilon, and Mirllyne explained in unison. "Lust was my oldest sister." Epsilon concluded. "Albireo didn't want them to disturb him, so he locked them in a Gothic church in Heaven. I remember her screaming at him, trying to convince him not to…"

"He tried to kill us," Polaris said. "He and Arien sealed Dal's soul into the watch and froze me beneath the ice. He was after Fiella and Enala, but he spared them."

"Who's Dal?" Riko asked.

"I'm Dal. Dal Segno." D.S. supplied.

"Dal Segno…D.S.." Sadie said, as if trying to piece everything together. He eyes widened. "Of course. You're the angel of time."

"What do you understand now?" Ra asked.

"I'll explain later." Sadie said. "I'm not even sure about it. D.S., your soul was in a watch, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. It always swung back and forth, back and forth, no matter what. It always went at the same pace, never speeding up or slowing down." D.S. said.

"Then I'm right." Sadie confirmed.

The huge gates to the destroyed city creaked.

"What the hell…" Zeus said, casting a straight line of fire so he could see. There was nothing but rubble in the destroyed streets. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Yeah," Tirzah said. "It was a gate. It creaked open, or maybe shut. But that's impossible, there's no one here…right?"

"No, the dark angels…they're here." Pandora whispered.

Something glinted in the darkness of the city.

"H-hello?" Kim called, her tone wavering. "Please don't hurt me!"

A curved silver blade appeared, as did a pair of black wings.

"Come with me." A girl's voice said. "Come with me, unless you'd like to meet me elsewhere. Come with me, I can help you. If you do not, you will not be able to return to Earth, or to Heaven or any of its suburbs. Not even with pardon. So come with me, into the darkness, where I can help you. Come with me…and Oblivion will save you. Come with me, and Fear will not harm but help you. Come with me, and your emotions will be helpful. Come with me, and I will save you. Come here, do not fear me. I cannot hurt you now. _They _are with you. Come with me, because with me, I will save you from myself."

-&-&-&-&-

**END MOVEMENT ONE**

We will return with Movement Two after the Interlude. Thank you!


	8. Epidemic of Kage

Many people have asked "how do you say 'Etoile'?" Most of them get it wrong by saying "Ee-toy-el.", but that's not right. Etoile is French for "star". It should have an accent mark over the first e, making it "Ay-twah". Thank you. (Sadie's edit – it's "ay" like "day", and "twah"…like…umm…?)

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Interlude: Epidemic of Kage

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A tall, beautiful angel walked along one of the many roads of Heliopolis. She was only visiting for the day to confirm something. What it was, she didn't know, but Eos knew, for it was Eos that had summoned her here. But why just this angel? Why just another plain angel?

The facts were that this was no ordinary angel. She may have worn a black skirt with diamond patterns all over it that swept along after her, and a ¾ length pale blue shirt, but that did not make her special or different. Not even her thigh-long silver hair or ruby red eyes changed nothing of her status. The pale mint green wings coming from her shoulderblades made no difference. However, the staff she carried with a green orb floating at the top did. Her name meant shadow. Who was she? She was Kage, the angel of disease. A golden halo floating above the crown of her head completed her designation as an angel.

As she reached the Palace of the Sun, the guards stepped aside and raised their swords to her. She merely smiled to acknowledge them and continued on her way. Kage continued up the golden stairs. Her skirt brushed along the steps she'd already climbed. A smirk grew on her face as she reached the top. The palace was designed with windowsills carved out of red and orange gems, and otherwise, a dome. There was one spire that flew from the heart of the palace, made from the gems inside. The gold set it off perfectly and allowed it to rise. It looked as if the rest were a circular pool of water it was dripping into. Composing her face to a much more polite smile, Kage pressed open the golden doors and entered the Palace of the Sun.

The entire golden exterior of the palace did the inside no justice. Hot-colored gemstones formed a dome above, and allowed the sun's light to stream through. A fountain created from diamonds gurgled directly beneath the peak of the dome. Several potted trees stood around this central room. On the floor was a huge magic circle, drawn in silver and cool-colored gems. It was Luna's Circle, the one that tied this palace to the one of the moon. Doors had been made from gold, and staircases of rubies and garnets.

Kage honestly smiled. This place was beautiful. She walked up two flights of the ruby stairs until she reached a room protected by a star-shaped crest on its door. Pushing it open, it revealed a spacious room. Kage stepped in. She wove her way around a huge painting spread out on the floor and entered one of the smaller side rooms. This room contained a king-sized bed, and in it was a golden-haired girl, sound asleep.

"Eos," Kage whispered, nudging the girl. Eos's clear blue eyes flew open and looked into Kage's.

"Selene is here. And Helios is around." Eos said. Moments later, the two entered the room. Selene was finishing tying her knee-length silvery hair into a braid, and Helios was fiddling with something beneath his messy orange-gold mop. The two smiled upon seeing Kage.

"No, no, don't bother." Helios said. "We were more than honored to hear your speech at Aurora's funeral. And Eos has been feeling much better."

"Well…thank you. I'm glad about Eos, too. Do you know anything about Polaris?" Kage said, leaning her staff against the wall.

"Yes. She came yesterday, looking to thank you." Selene said, sitting down on the bed next to her sister. "She seems to be doing much better. By the way, could you come back with me? There's someone who would like to speak with you."

"Of course. I just came here because Eos called." Kage replied, motioning to Eos. "Do you need anything, now that I'm here?"

"No. I just called because of Selene." Eos said. Selene eyed her younger sister. "Oh, and I wanted to say that I'll be mentioning you in my speech. You know, since Aurora died, I'm now the one female ruler of Heliopolis."

"I will be honored." Kage said, curtsying. "Do you feel that you are completely well once more?" She ruffled the young embodiment of the dawn's hair and grinned once more. But after her moment of fun had ended, her hand automatically went to her forehead. "I agree with myself once more. Stay in bed two more days, then your brother will let you out."

Eos sighed visibly.

"That doesn't mean you can't start doing other things." Kage said. "Your thinking is coherent again with your fever down, and your stomach seems to have settled. But it's still too soon to say that it's gone completely."

At once, her face was lit up again. Kage, too, smiled in spite of herself. It was not often that she was able to deal with people so polite as Eos and her family. It was also not often that they were one of the younger ones, and the fact that this family was practically royalty outside of Heaven. Aurora had been the only one born single, but died only a few weeks ago. Kage had been sorry to see her go at her age, but it was for the best. Since Aurora had proven it, this virus was effective.

"Are you coming?" Selene asked.

"Yes, of course." Kage said. "I'll see you at your speech, Eos. And until then, **stay in bed**!"

Kage picked her staff up from the wall and walked out the door with Helios and Selene. They smiled and began to head for the one silver door in the palace. Kage walked behind them since her status was lower, but Helios noticed quickly.

"Hey Kage, I've heard something strange." He said, slowing to walk at her pace. He lowered his voice; "There have been rumors among travelers here that an angel caused Aurora's death. Would you happen to have heard similar things?"

Kage paled a little, but covered herself by feigning curiosity. "No, I haven't. I will let you know if I do, or one of your siblings."

"Thanks. Selene, she's right here!" Helios called to his sister. She stopped as she turned the diamond key in the door that led to the bridge between the cities. "Have fun over there! And send Apollo back, he's been missing since forever."

Selene stepped onto the bridge and Kage was right after, shutting the door. Once inside, Selene sighed deeply.

"He was telling you about the rumors, wasn't he." Selene noted flatly. Kage nodded. "I know he's upset over it because she was the sun. I'm upset too…but I don't cling to mindless rumors about it."

They walked along the bridge. The children of the moon and sun shrines, and angels only used it when permitted. The bridge itself was magical, and collapsed the distance around Heaven into about a ten-minute walk. It was in space, but contained by glass. The ground was made of alternating silver and gold bricks and gems splashed into them. It also went to the end of the world, but you had to first go to Lunapolis.

"Finally." Selene said, as if the walk had taken forever. "I'm going to go up to my room. Polaris is in one of the rooms on the second floor."

She pushed the golden door open into the Palace of the Moon. They were on the very top floor of the palace, so Kage simply winked herself outside. It was a simple trick. And at least she didn't have to climb all the silver stairs.

Luna had definitely topped her brother's city when she had designed this. Her design was in silver, which helped. But her palace had turrets with spires all their own, made of different cool-colored gems. They were gently rounded so the curves didn't jut out too much. The windows, like her brother's, were rimmed by gemstones. Alone, the general shape was circular.

Kage pressed on the silver doors and was accepted inside. Helios' circle was inlaid to the floor with gold and red gems. There were several flowers growing here, but most of them were white. The ceiling of this room had been made of glass, and out of it, the moon was visible. There was no fountain, but several statues of the moon had been made in diamond and were set around. The stairs here were made of emerald, peridot, aquamarine, amethyst, and sapphire.

Something told her Polaris was on the third floor, so she climbed the two flights and had to choose between the silver doors. Looking for a door with Polaris' circle on it would be the key. It wasn't hard, since Polaris marked things brightly. Kage almost rushed to the door in fear that Aurora had spread the virus, and its most fatal target was angels. With panic sunk into her mind and a nervous grin on her face, Kage flung the door open.

"There you are!" Polaris exclaimed, sitting in an armchair and sipping her tea. The color washed out of Kage's face in relief. "You look terrible. Do have a seat."

Kage sank into the chair and leaned her staff against it. "Why did you call me here?"

Polaris' wings fluttered anxiously as she poured Kage some tea. "You're under too much stress. You need to stop thinking about others and start thinking about yourself."

Kage would have corrected her, but decided not to. It was true that Polaris was a dear friend, but with this knowledge both of them would be dead. And by both, she didn't include Polaris.

"The reason I wanted you to come here was that I've hear something incredibly strange." Polaris said, handing her the cup. She sat down. "I forget who it was, but someone said that _you _killed Aurora."

Kage held the tea to her lips, but dared not drink for fear of spewing it back out. Polaris noticed this.

"I'm sorry, Kage…I know you're close to the royal family…" Polaris instantly apologized. Kage set her tea down in her saucer and shook her head sadly. Polaris mistook this and rushed to comfort the other angel.

"Take the extra bed. Dal is elsewhere this evening." Polaris insisted, pointing a finger. Kage had no reason not to comply with the angel's request. But…there was someone else here to see her.

"Who else wanted to talk to me?" Kage asked. Polaris cocked an eyebrow.

"No one…well…Mirllyne wanted to see you earlier about something, and I'm not sure if she's still here." Polaris said. Kage was already out the door by the time she said the last word. "Oh…she's going to bring herself to death by doing that."

Kage remembered Mirllyne. She was one of the elemental angels and was good friends with Arien. And recently, she'd been spending more and more time on Earth. Kage wondered, did this angel have the same dilemma she did, just less severe? Her mind flashed back to him…her designation. But why call him that? Kazuo Shimamura was not an inanimate object.

"I've been looking for you since Selene told me you were back!" The young angel cried, rushing to Kage. Sure enough, Mirllyne was the only one bounding down the hall at the time. "Albireo-sama would like to speak with you."

"Is there transport arranged or will we have to fly?" Kage asked as they walked down the steps. Kage held her staff up so it wouldn't bump.

"Outside, I have a stone." Mirllyne said. "And Arien…"

They stepped outside of the palace and Mirllyne held up a black stone. In seconds, they stood in front of a boy, who was seated on a golden throne. The two angels instantly fell to their knees. He was Albireo. His hair was black as ebony, and his eyes were bright green.

"Kage. I've heard of your exploits." Albireo said. Said angel rose and nodded her head. "I would like you to do me a favor."

Kage was shocked by this. "W-what is it, sir?"

"Mirllyne, you may leave now." Albireo said. Mirllyne scampered from the room. "You, Kage, are the angel of disease. My sister Tsukasa has a terrible illness. Could you, per chance, heal her?"

Kage nodded fervently. Heal his sister, win points, hope for the best. "Yes, sir. Of course I can."

Albireo rose from his throne and motioned for Kage to follow. He opened a small side door. The angel went in first to find Tsukasa, the youngest member of the Chaos family, lying asleep on a huge bed, twisting and turning beneath the covers. Without thinking twice, Kage clapped her hands together softly and laid them on her staff. It changed to a slim blade hanging from a belt.

"How long?" Kage asked, laying a hand to the young girl's forehead.

"Four days. I'll leave you?" Albireo said. Kage nodded. He left the two alone in the room. This wouldn't take very long to find. It had been running around and was simply a weak bacterium.

Kage left the room, leaving a cup of tea behind with Tsukasa. Albireo noted this and waved.

"I'll remember you." He said as she walked out of the double doors in a bow.

Kage was in Heaven. Chaos' home was one of the most northern points, so from here, she could go anywhere. Yggdrasil was flocked at this time of year by angels going to Asgard, and Mount Olympus was just in a constant state of pandemonium. Nirvana would be packed with people, and the worlds beneath Yggdrasil held competitions. The general angel areas were in finals for the next round of angels. The Elemental Temples had prayer at this time of day. So she decided to head out the gates and go to Earth and see Kazuo.

"Kage." A voice said behind her. Kage's heart nearly froze. She turned around to see Dal.

"Yes, Dal?" Kage asked. Dal held out a small ruby star.

"I want you to have this. You helped Polaris. Remember me, Kage." Dal said, placing the star in Kage's palm. Kage curled her fingers around it. "Polaris isn't a classified angel yet, but she will be. I wonder where Etoile is…"

Dal ran off, leaving Kage standing at the golden gates. _Dal…Dal Segno. What an angel she could be. I'd say the angel of music. _She held up a hand. "To Earth, to Kazuo."

In a flash of light, she was whisked away from Heaven and into a small house. A man with chocolate brown hair and deeply brown eyes was there. He looked about her age, and upon seeing her, hugged her. They kissed for a minute, then Kage smiled.

"You already know, don't you?" Kage asked, smoothing the hair away from his right eye. "Kaz, you do know that I'm pregnant, right?"

Kaz beamed. "Of course I know."

"Good. Then you'll have to know…I'm going to name him Joseph." Kage said. "And using your family name. So he'll be Joseph Shimamura."

"That sounds lovely." Kaz replied. "But what about…"

"I've proven it's effective. I hated doing it…but I suppose guilty conscience will wear off after a while." She said, sitting down. "I'm going to start it tomorrow."

"Then you'd best go back." He advised, kissing her once again. In another flash of light, the angel was home again.

"I ran into your sister." Kage said to Polaris. Polaris nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing Kage's voice. "And you're welcome, Polaris. I'll help you to become classified. I'll…save you if you ever need it."

Polaris paused for a second. "Thank…thank you, Kage. That's really nice of you to say."

Kage smiled and nodded, knowing the weight of what she'd just said. She'd have to spare Polaris. But there was no need for Polaris to know that she was behind it, was there? She was Kage's senior by about seven thousand years, though she was not yet a classified angel. The one spot they wanted her to take was filled.

"I'm going to," Kage said, but was interrupted by a yawn, "To go to bed."

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Kage woke up hours before Polaris did. Thoughts swirled in her head. Who would be the first to contract this? It had to be an angel she really, really disliked…

Kummi was a conceited little girl. Arien was a positive bitch. Then it struck her. The one person who had been trying to prove her wrong for the last thousand years or so. Kali, the self-claimed angel of love. Her claim had been accepted. The two had been at war since they became classified angels, and it was now time for Kage's revenge.

Silence was kept as Kage slid out the door and into the corridor. Her footsteps were dead silent as they hit the stone beneath. Even the staff, still shaped as a sword, made no sound as she traveled. Kali lived in the end of the world. That was easy to access. Walking on the silver path to the edge of the city, Kage found the bridge that would take her there.

This bridge had nowhere near the splendor the bridge between Heliopolis and Lunapolis did, but to make up for it, the view was incredible. It was only a few minutes before she reached the glass atrium with all its other ways to get to Earth. She navigated easily around.

Finally reaching the room, Kage clapped her hands together and laid them on the sword, and it changed back. She opened the door as quietly as she could, finding the sleeping form of Kali there. Carefully, she traced a circle on her left palm with her right pointer finger, then laid the palm to Kali's cheek. Instantly, she broke out in a fit of coughing and Kage left the room.

It had begun. And now that it had, there was no way to stop it or Kage.

"Kage!" At her name, she turned and found a girl with red eyes and hair dashing toward her. "Have you heard yet? Etoile killed Albireo last night, and…"

"No…no…tell me you're lying…Alpha…you're not serious…" Kage stammered. Alpha nodded.

"ISV confirmed it was true, and my other sisters are going now to check it out." Alpha replied, bouncing on her heels. "I've got to be going too, Kage. I'll see you there, and if not, around!"

She dashed off. Kage was beyond shock. The one person right now who had a favor for her to take was dead. But aside from that, she wanted to skip. Albireo was a tyrant, and tried to rule with a diamond-coated gold-heavy fist. Something in her mind broke away. Now was not the time to start feeling sorry. Now was the time to hide, to pretend she didn't know. Now came the time she needed one more person to give this to.

"You know…" Another feminine voice mused behind her. Easily Kage swiveled around and hit her on the cheek with the circle. As soon as she fell, Kage saw it was another one of the angels-in-training. Oh well.

Running, she ran across the bridge to Lunapolis, and from there teleported herself into Heaven. Well, the farthest she got was the gates, but at least she was in.

"We seem to be in a hurry today." Etoile said, smirking. "The fucking tyrant is gone, and I'm to be tried and frozen in Death's Hall. But before that happens…"

Etoile was what you would describe as individual. She had grown her light midnight blue hair down to her waist and let the ends curl into huge ringlets, but her bangs were restrained from her face by a silver headband with a blue star at the center; recently she'd put silver streaks in. Her eyes were also pale midnight blue, but had several black flecks in them. She wore a skin-tight silver shirt that was cut to her shoulders and chest, letting her tattoos flow. To make up for it, her black skirt was a full one, and her feet were only covered by silver chains with designs at their helm. Several silver bracelets were worn around her wrists, and a few gold ones resided on her ankles. In her hands she clenched a blood-covered sword, which had a star-shaped hilt. Her pale blue wings were freed from the shirt by two star-shaped holes.

"Explain. Why are you doing this?" Etoile asked, placing the blade of her sword firmly into the ground. "Why cause mayhem? Why, Kage? Is it because you are in love with Kazuo?"

Kage's eyes widened. She turned her head away so she didn't have to make eye contact with Etoile. "Yes. I'm pregnant, Etoile. With hopefully a human child so he won't have to suffer because of me."

Etoile gasped a little but placed her hands on Kage's shoulders. "He will be human, but I'll leave it to you to figure out what will happen. I'll tell your sister. I won't tell them Kage, but next time we meet…it better be good."

They hugged, and then ran their separate ways. Kage didn't use the bridges to get to either of the cities, but rather flew to Lunapolis. The entire city was in uproar, but Polaris was still in her room, and Dal was there with her.

"Polaris. Do what I tell you to." Kage said. "Go to the primary white angel area. Tell them that Etoile is being frozen and you'll be the new angel of the stars. Dal?"

"I know, I know." Dal said lazily. "You're leaving. See you later."

Kage flew, and didn't stop until she was home, home with Kazuo.

"You look tired," The Japanese man said. "You flew. Judging by your wings and your breathing."

"We wait, Kaz. Wait and pray." Kage said, taking deep and refreshing breaths. But she managed a smile. "Etoile said that he'd be human. But…she said that it would be harder on him than if he were an angel…"

Kage spent two months with Kazuo, and every day, she was reminded of what she'd done by the feeling of a black hole in her stomach. At the beginning of the third month, she decided to pay a visit back to Heaven. She left in the early morning.

All of Heaven, even the suburbs, were in utter chaos. Pleas were shouted from windows, and as Kage looked around, saw more than just angels dying. Nervousness gripped at her mind as she walked to the Palace of the Sun.

"Oh Kage, thank the Gods you're here!" Apollo cried, restraining himself from falling onto her. "We brought Umbra as soon as she started to show signs of the disease…oh Kage, will you help her?"

Kage allowed herself to be dragged into the palace. The doors were covered by magic circles to show residence, but had an "X" through them for sickness or death. Kage clenched her staff and was brought before a golden door. This one had the crest of the moon on it, with Umbra's mark.

"It's Kage! We thought…we thought the shadows had claimed you too!" Eos wailed, clinging to Kage as if her life depended on it. "Something…different. Something's not right with you."

Kage's attention instantly shifted to Umbra.

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"Tell me what's wrong, Kage." Luna asked. Her eyes burned with wonder. "Something isn't right with you. Eos knows you best, and here we all are, stuck in mayhem. You just healed my sister just by putting your hand on her!"

It wasn't the thought of Umbra, or any of the other angels that troubled her. Over the two months, her mind had wandered along what Etoile had said. He would be human, but he'd be paying…it clicked. Long, long ago when she'd been accepted as a classified angel, they had told her one thing to never, ever do.

To have a child with a human was forbidden. The angel who disobeyed this rule wouldn't be paying the price himself or herself, rather their child would. Their child would be Pandora or Prometheus, depending.

"Oh…oh my God." Kage said. "Prometheus…"

"Yes, what about him?" Luna asked. She turned to look at Kage, who had just gotten the true panic of it set into her. "Kage? Are you okay?"

"Tell me. What happened with Etoile? Mirllyne? Polaris and Dal?" Kage asked weakly.

"They brought back Albireo's spirit and Etoile was frozen. Two days later, Mirllyne was found guilty of loving a human and was banished. Polaris is now the angel of the stars, and Dal is the angel of time." Luna recited, as if this were a common question. "Now Kage, tell me the reason."

Kage vanished in a poof of smoke and wasn't seen for another six months. When she returned, it looked as if hell had risen. There was now a new city built, one that housed the dead. Terror in her heart, she flew slowly to Heaven, and right to the main angel area.

"Kage. I've been waiting." Umbra said. She held out her hands and black bonds wrapped themselves around Kage's wrists. "Luna figured it out a month after you left. Kage, I'm sorry. You're to be frozen. You began this. You will end it. **Now**."

Kage clapped her hands and the bonds vanished. Another clap and her staff was once more a staff. She held it up and a mass of gray-green gas flowed into it. "How long, Umbra?"

"Three hundred years." Umbra said. In an instant, they were in the courthouses.

"You've done it now, and you're paying the price." Chaos himself said. "He, too, will pay your horrid price. And we're going to make sure you see it."

"Remember me! Remember what I did for you. You will rue the day you stopped this from happening, and I will personally ensure it! And when he is of the age, he will bring you down off your high and mighty post! Mark my words, my epidemic of shadow will never be forgotten!" Kage cried as she was dragged off. Tears streamed down her face.

What had she done? And more importantly, what was she to do?

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"Oh…oh…shit…" Kage muttered as she staggered through the deep snow. She was powerless to do otherwise, and held a small bundle in her arms. There was a church ahead. She ran toward it, but halfway up the steps, tripped.

"Miss?" A man asked her, shaking her arm gently. She looked up.

"Take…take him." Kage said, pushing the bundle toward him. He picked it up. Inside was a baby boy with brown hair and sparkling ruby eyes. "His name…is Joseph…Shima…mura."

The man nodded and smiled. He looked further into the bundle and discovered a ruby star, the same color as the woman's eyes. He smiled and walked back into the church with the baby, not knowing that this child could save or destroy the world some day.

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All I can say (since it was I, the great Sadie) that all the old-school angels use alchemy. Did anyone else find that, since Kage used the transmutation circle for Kali and the other random angel? If not, I promise you'll see Etoile in action with it!


	9. Largo

We all know Sadie is my insanely lovable neighbor and beta. However, in the middle of writing this chapter, she decided to go off on a one shot of Etoile if she were to be on Larry King Live. Oh Gods, I am never going to stop laughing…

((short cut:

LK: I heard you're…errr…an angel?

Etoile: DAMN STRAIGHT I AM! (kicks Camera Man 1's ass)

End cut.))

NOTE: Cielle was the previous angel of water, before Xiaka. Just to clear things up. And that I don't own Cyborg 009.

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Riprendere

Chapter Seven: Largo

Movement Two: Beginning of the End 

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"Come with me." A girl's voice said. "Come with me, unless you'd like to meet me elsewhere. Come with me, I can help you. If you do not, you will not be able to return to Earth, or to Heaven or any of its suburbs. Not even with pardon. So come with me, into the darkness, where I can help you. Come with me…and Oblivion will save you. Come with me, and Fear will not harm but help you. Come with me, and your emotions will be helpful. Come with me, and I will save you. Come here, do not fear me. I cannot hurt you now. _They_ are with you. Come with me, because with me, I will save you from myself."

Joe stepped ahead and Chang followed after, blowing a large flame.

"Hello, Master Prometheus." A strange girl said. She stepped out from the gates. "Come along, I will not harm any of you."

"…Death?" Mirllyne asked. The girl nodded and fully stepped into view.

Death was not human, but an angel with black wings. She had bright pink eyes and black hair that was crudely cut at her shoulders. All she wore was a threadbare black tank top and a short pleated black skirt. Her feet were bare. In her hands she carried a long scythe, with a silver blade about three feet long with a sole swirling blue line along it.

"The others are waiting." Death said, turning around and holding her scythe above her head. It illuminated the ruins of Lunapolis. "Come."

Joe took a step ahead and Francoise was right next to him. D.S. and Polaris were behind them, and soon after followed the remainder of the non-cyborgs. Death was silent as she led them on. Her wings fluttered every once in a while, but other than that, she said or did nothing but walk.

"Here we are." She said finally, stopping. "You would have just walked through the village, but since they destroyed it, you did not. Welcome, though, to the city of Lunapolis." She waved her scythe in an arc, and as she did, it was as if the rest of the city had magically appeared.

Lunapolis must have been something even better than this, and this was hard to beat. Below them lay a huge silver temple, surrounded by smaller ones. Many of the smaller buildings had stained glass windows, and ones that didn't had designs in gemstones. It had been appropriately named. The moon hung above the huge building and caused all the smaller ones to shimmer in its light. However, around all this was ruin. Heaps of tarnished metal and broken gems lay about. All but one building far, far west of them, that was made of black stone inlaid by silver.

"It's…not like the end of the world…right?" OV asked. Death shook her head.

"What you see is real." Death said. "Come, this is not our focus."

"Where are the gardens?" Joe asked. Death stopped and blinked in surprise. "I've seen it before, somehow…but it had gardens with white flowers."

Fate tapped him on the shoulder. "You saw it…didn't you. You saw where I lived."

Joe's heart froze. Dreams…everything he'd seen…it had been _real_? He grasped his head as he began to feel woozy. As he did, he fell to the ground in a useless heap.

-&-&-&-

"How the hell did this happen?" Zaffiel asked Tsukasa. "We set up the place in nothing flat, that we did. No one had any time to be able to do this."

Tsukasa gave her negative from her desk.

"Tsukasa…" Zaffiel said, sitting down on the desk and picking Tsukasa's head up. "What happened? Are you just worn out from resurrecting Albireo? Please tell me, Tsukasa, I need to know."

The girl looked up into clouded blue eyes. Tsukasa wanted to look there forever, but she couldn't. "Yes…and no. I'm scared, Zaffiel. If he finds out…"

"Both of us are as good as dead." Zaffiel concluded darkly. Tsukasa nodded miserably and lost her contact with Zaffiel's eyes. "Don't cry. Lock the door, and at least we can give him an honest reply. I'll clean the ceiling later."

-&-&-&-

"That's not possible. There is not another Prometheus alive right now." Another one of the dark angels said. "No…no, all the records are here in the city. There are two Pandoras, though…"

This angel was different. She had black hair with silvery purple ends that was unrestrained and fell to the middle of her back, all except for a thin braid that touched the ground, and it as well was purple. Her eyes were stormy purple. She wore a purple tank top and a full black skirt, and like Death, her feet were bare. But the strangest part was her wings. They were gray.

"I agree, it makes no sense whatsoever, Oblivion." D.S. said. "I saw Joe before he found everything out. He is Prometheus…but…hey!"

"Why are…your wings…" Joe asked, just beginning to wake up. Oblivion, the angel with gray wings, locked eyes with him.

"Without a doubt, he's Kage's." Oblivion declared. "My wings are gray because I am the angel of oblivion. I can be a good thing or a bad one, depending on your predicament. No one could decide, so I have gray wings. I am neither dark nor light; I am the only gray area that exists and I chose to come with the dark."

Joe struggled to sit up, and once he did, he saw Death. She had her back turned to him, with her scythe held in front of her by both hands. Something was different, Joe realized; she had tattoos like the other angels now. As if she had read his mind, she turned and faced him.

"You've seen my work before, haven't you?" Death asked. "Only those who have seen death as it takes over are able to see my bindings to the angelic duty. I have never had a human designation, but I have been alive for over…no, since before Chaos came into being, I have existed. Always changing."

Joe sat still for a second, then nodded. "That makes sense."

"As do you. There was another angel like your mother, but she was killed in battle, and we never found her. Her daughter was meant to be Pandora." Death said mysteriously, playing with the tip of the scythe. "But enough of that for now. Reinforcements are needed if we are to go through with this."

"What are we going through with?" Joe asked, puzzled. He stood up and began to follow Death as she walked.

"Come on, we have to go find a few others before we even try to go there." Oblivion said, fiddling with her braid.

-&-&-&-

Nirine usually kept her temper fairly well. However, today was not her day. She had been sent to Heliopolis to see if the children of the shrines were there, and not even with another angel. Etoile was too busy reaping the rewards of her victory, and Albireo was not about to show weakness. Thus she set foot into the end of the world, hoping that she'd be slightly less bored as she searched the ruined city.

"If you're there, say 'I SMELL LIKE DOG CRAP!'" Nirine shouted into the golden wreckage. "Okay, annoying OOCness done for the day."

She continued to walk along, but after a while, grew tired of having to jump to get over some random golden thing that had been broken. So automatically she began to fly. It felt quite nice to fly again.

"Nirine? Is that you?" A nervous voice asked. "Come out or I'll shoot you!"

Nirine flew over a huge golden pillar to find Fiella, decked out in her usual Valentine's motif. The headstrong angel was trembling in fear, but straightened as soon as she saw Nirine. Nirine landed next to the other, still feeling a deep sense of hatred for her.

"I thought I was the only one here." Nirine stated simply. Fiella shook her head.

"I was sent only a while ago. It wasn't even Tsukasa or Zaffiel who sent me." Fiella replied. "How strange…you don't seem to be worshipping Albireo."

"Oh, no, I despise him." Nirine said, never making eye contact. "When my sister asked why she didn't make it to become a classified angel, he simply killed her. No questions asked."

-&-&-&-

"So. We have all the answers, now you need the questions to satisfy them." Oblivion said. "You'll have to meet more angels to understand. But for now, some of us are hiding things of our own. You, for starters, Alpha."

"There's no Alpha here," Riko said, puzzled. "There's Omega."

"She is Alpha." Oblivion pointed to Epona, whose face became unreadable in an instant. She sighed and bit her lip, then did something really strange. She opened her eye wider, as if to take out a contact lens. She repeated the process with the other eye, then closed both and threw something to her feet. When she looked up, blood red eyes were staring back at the entire group.

"My name is indeed Alpha, and Omega is my twin sister." Epona said. "Could someone undo my hair; I just redyed it."

Panthos raised a hand, and in seconds, her rich brown hair was the same shade of red as her eyes. Omega laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly.

"You've done the right thing this time. We all did." Omega said. "And now, for most of us, it's time to change back to our original forms. Who's with me?"

"I was _wondering _how long that was going to take you." Mirllyne noted dryly, smirking at Omega. "Are you going to do it, Dal and Polaris?"

"I won't, not until I meet Etoile." Polaris said. "I know that you have. I'll bet that you'll stay that way, and that D.S. won't change either."

"Not for that reason. I'm just tired after having to separate my soul so many times from so many different places. I'll wait until we at least meet the sins." D.S. answered, grinning. "Besides, what fun is there in showing them right now? It'd make things much more interesting."

"What was with that dragon, Panthos?" Omega asked.

"Oh, you liked her? It's Omega!" Panthos replied, laughing. Omega fumed silently, then swirled around and kicked him.

"Honestly, you two." Fate said, tossing her long hair over one of her wings. "There's more to worry about than the name of Panthos' illusions. Although, he seems to have picked a good name for her."

"This means we're all waiting?" Poseidon asked. Alpha nodded in return. "Okay, then, let's go off to the hall. If it's still standing."

"My hall is still standing. We shall not wake up all the angels, rather, only the ones we are in need of." Death said, slipping her scythe over her back into some type of sling and brushing something off her skirt. "Etoile, Kage, Yami, Hikari, and Etaf should do it, don't you think?"

Mirllyne gave a somewhat choked laugh. "Etoile would be enough alone once she's seen what they've made her into. And Kage…well, she'll have her own reasons to attempt murder on Tsukasa."

This last comment brought a dry laugh all around.

"Oblivion…Death…I have heard that you would like my presence." The entire group turned as one to face the speaker.

She was somewhat on the short side, and to prove this, her black skirt dragged behind her on the ground and her black wings looked larger than any other angel's. Her hair was long and was colored like an ocean during a storm, but in sharp contrast, her eyes were sparkling gold. The shirt she wore was cut up so it tied behind her neck and was colored a brutal shade of gray-purple-blue. Small slippers clung to her feet, and overall, she gave the appearance of a young child.

"Oh, Fear. Do you know where the other emotion angels are?" Oblivion asked. Fear shook her head.

"I am sorry. I am called Fear, for I am the angel of fear. This is not my natural eye color, so I do apologize if it alarms you. They will shift color depending on how much fear you have." Fear said, flashing them a tiny smile. "I do not know where any of the others are, Oblivion."

Oblivion shrugged. "We'll just have to get them up without emotion, I suppose. The sins will be a different matter since we have so much already."

"Death! Death!" Another angel sprinted to join them, frantically waving his arms. He tripped and fell over a fallen piece of silver. "I came running once I heard…and this must be them."

It seemed strange to imagine a male angel, but here he was, with rumpled carrot-orange hair and twinkling gold eyes. His wings were black, and he wore a pair of shorts that had been cut up to his knees and a black shirt, also cut to his figure. He laughed at the shocked expressions he received.

"It's only Energy, calm down." Alpha said, smiling and hugging the boy. He laughed once more. He bowed to Joe, then turned to Francoise and kissed her hand softly while in another bow.

"All of you fall into the roles perfectly. If I do say so myself, I find this Pandora to be more gorgeous than the last." Energy said.

"He has forgotten to introduce himself. He is Energy, the angel of energy. One of the three males in the angels of emotion." Fear said, her eyes slightly shifting to a more orange hue.

-&-&-&-

"For the last time. Tsukasa is not feeling well, that she is not." Zaffiel said. Nirine blew a stray strand of hair up out of pure annoyance.

"But it's _urgent_!" Nirine protested, stamping her foot to emphasize her point. Zaffiel sighed and began to walk Nirine away.

"I am seco…no, third now, in command here. I will be able to help you." Zaffiel said. "There is no need to wake Tsukasa. She's tired from the move."

Nirine smiled slightly. "That's just the problem. There have already been several explosions occurring near the Forbidden Church and the worlds beneath Yggdrasil have shut themselves off. Even Olympus and Western Heaven are shut up and won't let anyone through."

"And the temples? Chaos' and the Elementals'?" Zaffiel asked. Nirine shook her head. It was no longer a problem of occupation, rather it was one of getting people to allow them to be friendly. I have no idea what I just wrote, so you may ignore it. Now skip ahead to the next paragraph…yeah, NOW!

"We can't get in without showing one of the necklaces, everyone knows that." Nirine said. "It's possible we could force entry into the worlds below Yggdrasil by getting Kummi to light things up, but I don't think she would."

Something hit home in Zaffiel's mind. Xiaka's necklace was still outside the gates. Kummi still had hers, but water was more important. You could make a storm from fire, but the bad ones were from water. The pendant was lying on the chain at the gates. They could get it and unlock a temple. It was a long shot, but worth it.

"Nirine. Kindly tell Albireo that I will be back shortly. I just remember something that could greatly benefit us, that it would." Zaffiel said, wings already fluttering anxiously.

-&-&-&-

"Do calm down." Polaris said, laying a hand gently to Joe's shoulder. He looked at her mismatched eyes. "This won't hurt you. The only way it will is if you stress yourself too far, and then you have the possibility of slowing everything down."

She smiled brightly, then ran ahead to catch up to Enx and Ra. He thought about it for a second, before receiving another tap, this time on his forearm from Fear. Her eyes stared into his, changed to a fantastic purple.

"You are most afraid. I will second Polaris on her opinion: do not stress yourself too far. It could, and most likely will be, hazardous at this stage." She said. Her eye color shifted slightly to a darker hue of purple. "Fear is a dangerous thing."

At this, she flapped her wings and flew close to the ground. Joe did a double take. Angels could use their wings to fly? Whoa. When did that happen?

"Since forever, and since Mika decided to remember." Mirllyne explained serenely, beaming at him. "Joe, you should know something…_else_. Aside from being…"

"OY! WE NEED CLEARANCE!" Ra shouted. "Anyone that would like to help, get yer ass front and center NOW!"

"So much for deep moments." Mirllyne muttered, dashing off toward Ra's rather loud curses. Joe continued to ponder what all this really meant. Mirllyne had even more hidden? How was that even possible after the whole angel affair?

"Oh, nothing's impossible." Tirzah commented, gazing off into the night sky. "After spending two years living with Jet, you find out that a lot can be proven wrong."

"Can you guys read minds now too?" Joe remarked sarcastically, eliciting a scowl from the slightly petite woman.

"One word: Jet." She answered curtly, stalking away from him. He heard loud shouts ahead and hit his accelerator to see what was going on in front of him. As it would so happen, the little fire pixies had returned. Mirllyne, along with Chang and Tie, had blasted the blockade down. Again, he left mach three behind and returned to a normal speed.

"And so he's back," Mirllyne said with a shrug, flapping her wings a few times. "I have the desperate need to fly. Do you mind?"

"We'll meet you at the Hall." Death replied, waving. Mirllyne cheered and launched herself into the night sky, white wings flapping to get her higher. Her loud whoops of joy resounded high above them.

"Amazing, how therapeutic simple pleasures like flying are." Oblivion said, grinning. "You don't know how it feels. After being…no…well, after being stuck on Earth for so long, it feels good to spread your wings."

"The Hall, if you wouldn't mind." Death mentioned.

-&-&-&-

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Fiella exclaimed, bouncing eagerly as she sat. Her sister, on the other hand, shook her head in regret. Zaffiel had recovered Xiaka's necklace, but her proposition was absurd. Igniting three elements would invoke something.

"Kummi, are you in?" Zaffiel asked. The other angel nodded, but then noticed something strange. Usually she only wore the one earring shaped as an X, but today…both were on as she tugged them as a routine. She shrieked.

"THAT FUCKING **BITCH**! I'LL SEE TO IT **PERSONALLY **THAT HER INNARDS ARE SMEARED ALL OVER THE FUCKING GATES!" Kummi roared, punching the wall. Huge indents appeared where her fists struck, as well as scorch marks. Bitter tears dripped from her red cheeks.

"What happened?" Enala asked, holding Kummi's fists. Kummi pointed to her ears. There hung two X marks; the sign that only meant that she had been expelled. Enala gasped, then turned to Zaffiel.

"You see? You see what this will do to all of us? She's already gotten it, and she hasn't even agreed to anything yet!" Enala shouted. Kummi, trembling, dug into her shirt to look for something. She pulled out a pendant, much like Xiaka's. Hers had an orange glow to it, but it was slowly dying.

"It only means we need to hurry." Zaffiel argued. "Let us depart now. We'll get it all done sooner, that we will."

"I don't believe you." Kummi mumbled, clenching her fists. "Right now, I'm legally DEAD! Like Xiaka and Cielle before her! I'm not going to do that before I kill the bitch!"

"I wouldn't try that, but that's just me." Out of pure nowhere, Umbra appeared. Her bright eyes twinkled and her glossy black hair shone. "Mirllyne got that for a reason, Kummi. Who knows, they could be setting her up, like Kage did with us."

"Remind me, who invited you?" Fiella interjected, casting a sharp look to the shadow girl. Umbra gave her a crooked smile in response.

"My sisters said I needed to stop you before you went very much further. You should try and consider what's happened to those who have tried to force entry into the temples years ago. They've received their doubles." Umbra explained calmly. "Cielle for example. Xiaka always broke things, so Cielle invaded the Water Temple before Xiaka had a fit and destroyed it too.

"Do what you want with that information. It can get you farther or closer from your goal." Umbra said, then vanished once more. Zaffiel shrugged it off.

"We should go now, before it completely fades." She said.

-&-&-&-

"You're moving too slowly. Come on, we don't have forever!" Oblivion yelled behind herself. Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Omega, and OV went running up the silver steps to the black church. Pandora, whose braid was now at what seemed to be its longest, rode along on Poseidon's back.

Death stood at the top of the steps, idly playing with her scythe. As Zeus finally came to the step beneath her, she stopped and held it to her side.

"Before we enter, I would like to ask you all something. Are you safe with seeing death?" Death asked. It seemed like such an ironic question coming from her. However, there was a unanimous nod and she continued. "Good. All the angels inside have committed multiple sins. When we wake some of them up, which we will be doing, they may be violent."

"Etoile especially." Energy giggled. Mirllyne joined him in his giggles.

"Okay, enough. Can we all agree with Etaf, Yami, Hikari, Kage, and Etoile? They should be more than enough after we get into Heaven with the sins." Oblivion asked. Again, the round of nods.

"I would say that you have the right to proceed as soon as you feel ready." Fear concluded. "But they are terrified." Her eyes were hot, hot pink to prove her point. A half smile broke out on Death's face.

"You look like me." She noted, securing her scythe to her back. "You have asked for this, so I'll expect you to be ready for it."

"I asked you to wait for me," A male voice cut through the silence. "Death, what am I going to do with you?"

His hair was cut a bit shorter than hers was, and his eyes were blood red. He wore loose black pants, a black t-shirt; a red scarf tied behind his neck, and was barefoot. It seemed like he made no movement as he scaled the staircase. He stood next to Death, and almost took on a protective air.

"His name is Pain." Death said. She plunged her hands forward onto the handles to open the doors. Instead of pulling them, the doors sucked her in. Finally, they opened wide. Pain edged closer to Death, but she cared not and strode in the doors.

"Come along." Fear said, entering after them. Oblivion followed after with Polaris and D.S., and after them were Energy, Alpha, and Omega. And after that, we get the picture.

The hall had a huge, arched ceiling that reached up into the blackness. It was filled with stale air from centuries gone by and darkness perfumed it. In fact, were it not for the gently pulsating watery blue light on the ground, it would have been completely black. The light came from glass inprisonments. They were obviously there to be restrained, not shown off.

"Yes, they are angels. Some have committed only a few sins, and others have done them all in turn." Fear said, voice echoing. "You are all so very slow."

"I don't like this place," Lily said, unnerved. She muttered nervously under her breath.

Death stopped suddenly. "Etoile. There."

In her death, Etoile looked nothing like her duplicate. Her hair was much lighter and wild, and the headband attempting restrain did nothing much. Her clothes were tight, showing her off.

"Yami. Hikari." Death pointed with her scythe. "Etaf. I could go on and on. Cielle is next to Etaf, and…"

"Kage." Mirllyne said. She pressed her free hand to the glass.

"Allow me that." Death said. She laid both of her palms gently to the glass, and inside, Kage jerked. Seconds later, she fell out of the glass cage, right between Joe and Francoise. Joe caught her.

She couldn't have been very much taller than he was, but her silver hair reached down to her thighs. She wore only a pale blue ¾ length shirt and a black skirt with diamonds forming patterns all up and down it. The soft green wings coming out of her back let a few feathers fall loose.

Then she looked up out of his shoulder, and both saw the most stunning pair of ruby eyes they'd ever seen. Joe unleashed a strangled cry of shock as she blinked and continued to stare straight at him.

"Eighteen years ago I was an angel. Three hundred years ago, I was immensely feared by everything in Heaven and its suburbs." She said. "I knew what you were before you were born. They tried to stop it…but I couldn't.

"Do you know who I am?"

-&-&-&-&-


	10. Andante

I've got to say…I wanted to call this chapter "Adagio" so badly. But I think that having fewer chapters going up would be a wise idea. And of course, I own the angels, excluding Pain. (By the way, Andante is walking speed – still not very fast, but more movement than Largo.)

Sadie's notes: Katriana is one of the people from Incalzando. Who; well, you'll see soon enough. Also, we use a lot of stuff from both various countries and their religions and myths. It did take a lot of research on my part – Mika's too damn lazy. SHOUJO-AI WARNING. A lot is implied, but still, we all know what we see when **that **happens…lots.

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Eight: Andante

-&-&-&-&-

"Do you know who I am?" She asked.

"Of course. You're Kage." Francoise answered. Kage looked at her, bewildered. Stepping away from Joe, she carefully tossed her long hair behind her ear.

"Pandora, and my own son. It is my pleasure to meet you." Kage said politely. She curtsied neatly. "I must say that the two of you fit together perfectly. Brown and blond, blue and red. And you are beautiful."

Francoise blushed at that. Death's eyes seemed to be burning now. She pressed her hands to the glasses holding Yami and Hikari. However, they managed to fly gracefully out instead of fall. The two landed gently beside their daughters.

Yami had an amazing mess (that resembled Energy's quite well) of blond hair and hazel green eyes. His wings were, in striking contrast to his hair and eyes, pitch black. The woman next to him had chest-long dark brown hair and obsidian black eyes, but wings as white as a dove.

"Now it's starting to feel like a party." Pain whispered to Death. She shrugged and watched as Yami and Hikari hugged their daughters. Kage smiled transparently at Joe, wondering what to think.

"Etaf, and then, Kage, Etoile." Death said, hands already on the glass. The angel who toppled out onto Panthos had long black hair and wore nothing but black. As her cobalt eyes opened, she rose and seized Fate.

"Fate, Fate, what have they done to us?" Etaf cried, sobbing into Fate's shoulder. "The wings…they're…they're…"

"I know, Etaf, calm down." Fate said, gently running her fingers through the angel's hair. "But you still have magic. That's what's important, my dear."

Fate and Etaf stood there for a few minutes longer. Within that time frame, Etoile fell from her glass imprisonment and stood up off the ground.

"KAGE, YOU BITCH!" Etoile roared, storming over to Kage and slapping her soundly across the face. Her pale midnight blue eyes resounded with fury. Her duplicate did no justice to the real thing. "YOU! THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, YOU DESERTED ME!"

Kage smiled. "You never ratted me out. We still owe one another."

Etoile then pushed multiple strands of hair from her face and beamed. "Joseph Shimamura, just as Kage said. She told me the day I killed Albireo. You're somewhat of a celebrity in Heaven. Prometheus. And this lady must be the new Pandora. Where's the other Pandora, the Pandora I knew?"

Bipolar was not the word for Etoile's sudden change of heart. The long, slim sword that hung at her waist winked in the light as she turned to look Pandora. She saw Pandora asleep on Zeus and rushed over.

"Kage, what is it?" She asked. Kage looked.

"Magical disorder. There's only going to be one real thing to solve it." Kage stated simply. "Joe, if you'd kiss Francoise."

Instantly, both turned nine shades of red. Kage laughed.

"Do it outside. They will wake up if you do it in here." Fear said. "So much emotion will cause a major uprising in this hall."

"I must agree." Death said, already leaving.

-&-&-&-

The rebuilt Water Temple was an exact replica of the one Cielle had destroyed. As Zaffiel presented the necklace to gain entry, she sighed.

"I know none of you really wanted to come with me." Zaffiel said. "But it's too late now, that it is. Are you all ready to take this all the way, until we've killed Joe and Francoise?"

Kummi, Nirine, Fiella, Enala, and Arien were all silent. They all knew this was a life or death choice, and they'd probably die either way.

"I'll do it." Kummi said finally. "I want revenge on all of those asses."

"I'm in." Fiella agreed.

"It's against my better judgement…but it needs to be done." Enala admitted.

"How could I not?" Arien asked, shrugging.

"I'll hold them off long enough to know that we never took their stuff. And how could you ever doubt that I'd be with you all the way to Katriana's doorstep?" Nirine said. After they'd all given their okays, Zaffiel held the pendant to eye level and was granted access.

Kummi and Enala followed suit, and the six entered.

Inside it was fairly simple – there were statues of the first angels of the elements, and large orbs containing the glow of the element. There was a shrine for each of the five elements, as well as a list of the angels for them.

"So this is what it's like inside the temple." Fiella said. "Enala always talked about it, but never really could capture it. It's amazing. Holy, almost."

"Sacred." Arien added.

-&-&-&-

"Outside," Hikari breathed, throwing her arms in the air. "And so much has changed after almost a thousand years…is Albireo still in power?"

Joe and Francoise were last to leave, still flushed from Kage's remark. As soon as everyone's attention was focused on something else, Joe turned to Francoise.

"You know that I'd protect you no matter what, right?" Joe asked. Francoise looked into his eyes. They told no lies. She nodded. The two kissed right there as no one looked.

"Put me down." Pandora ordered Zeus, who promptly dropped her out of shock. "Not that hard, but it works."

"P-P-Pandora? What the hell?" Zeus asked as the blond girl stood up. "Ten seconds ago, you could barely lift a finger without someone's help! What the hell happened?"

"I can explain that. Since Prometheus and Pandora…" Kage said, pointing to Joe and Francoise, "Are accepting their roles, she no longer is needed as the true Pandora, and thus clearing her of magical backup. Make sense?"

"No, not really…but I'll take your word." Zeus said. "Wow…you've changed. A lot."

Pandora's icy eyes obviously shone with pleasure. Her previously short haircut was now a long braid that reached down nearly to her ankles, leaving her face open, giving her a much more mature air. She smiled.

"The time is getting closer. We need to get into Heaven." Pandora said. "If we want to get anywhere, we're going to need the sins. Fear and Epsilon: do you think you can unlock the doors at this range?"

"That, Miss Pandora, would be impossible to do. My power can only reach so far. Heaven is out of my range at the current time." Fear said. "I will need to be closer, then I can try and contact my sister."

"Fear's right. There's no way I can get through those walls to Lust from this distance." Epsilon confirmed.

"Even with Pride and her swollen ego, her mind can not flex that far." Fear said. "Pride is my elder sister by seven years. You are wondering, are you not?"

"Looks like we have only one choice." Etoile said. "Infiltrate Heaven. Come on, they never took the bridges down."

"And how would you know that?" Mirllyne asked.

"Because, little one, your sister used them when she returned." Etoile replied. "Come on. Heaven is through the bridge. Kage, did you keep a key to them?"

"Oh, you won't need that." Luna said, appearing out of thin air. "I was chosen to see to it that you got through to at least the gates."

"What the hell gives? Was no one listening last chapter when I said Mika wanted to STICK TO CANON?" Sadie bellowed. "THAT MEANS NO PLOT DEIVCES!"

"I'm actually not a plot device, I just came to…never mind." Luna said. She handed Enx the key. "Be warned that Tsukasa has taken over Heaven. I'll be off now."

And she vanished. Enx studied the key in her hands. It was heavy, and seemed to be made out of solid diamond. A silver ribbon was tied at the end of it.

"Well, let's not waste time," Enx said, looking up. Her eyes were set on what needed to be done. "Lead the way."

-&-&-&-

"It's been quite a while since I've been here." Etoile said, marveling at the gates. "Behind them is the welcome area, if you go down the marble stairs. To the east is the great tree of the worlds – Yggdrasil – and to the west is Western Heaven and Nirvana. North will take you to Olympus, the temples, and all the other important stuff."

"I miss Olympus." Zeus said, smiling.

"Ah, it's only you." A man's voice – deep, yet infinitely calm – said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It's Michael!" Mirllyne called. She looked upward and smiled hugely, waving.

A male angel jumped down. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and his white wings flapped magnificently. A white robe was draped around his body and a gold rope tied it at his waist.

"Do you still say that thing, Etoile?" Michael asked, coming to stand before the group.

"I _still_ respect no one because no one respects me, I hate everyone because everyone hates me." Etoile said. "Now let us in."

Michael smiled. "You know the rules. Wings, ladies and Pain and Energy, the rest of you, start talking."

There was suddenly a scream, but then right after it, a laugh. It was Etoile, her wings showered in blood, protruding from her shoulderblades. They were extremely pale blue, and each had several hoops pierced through them. Both of them alone were at least ten feet long.

"Your wings, too?" Etaf asked. "I would have thought that all of them in your ears were enough, but you did your wings?"

"Nah. Getting all the seven wasn't enough, so I just did diamonds from there on out in my ears. The ones in my wings are only hoops." Etoile explained. "And Michael, you idiot, we brought Prometheus and Pandora. Shut up and open them."

Michael chuckled. Then, after being kicked in the groin by Etoile and backhanded by Kage, he threw his head back and laughed out loud. The golden gates swung wide open, but Michael kept laughing.

"Oh…oh…oh crap, that was good!" Michael managed to get out. "There's no way you could not be Kage and Etoile! Go in, and see if you can get them out. Good luck to all of you!"

"Come on, we're in!" Kage said, ushering them all through the gates. "Now, I want an explanation. Why, so suddenly, have we all been awoken? Why are we in Heaven? Why is it finally time for Prometheus and Pandora to be of importance?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing. What the fuck gives?" Etoile asked. "I want some explaining."

"YOU'RE ABOUT TO PAY FOR TRESPASSING ON OUR TERRITORY!" Kummi roared, unleashing huge escapades of indigo fire toward them.

"Oh, she has the worst timing. But all the better, since I really need to get some energy out." Etoile mused, hand straying to her waist.

"YOU WANNA PLAY, DO YOU?" Etoile screamed back, four pointed silver objects thrown toward Kummi. They caught the light and bounced it back spectacularly, causing many to shield their eyes.

Etoile's full skirt did not hamper her as she ran. She clapped her hands and dropped to the ground, causing a huge pillar to form with her at the top of it. The pointed things missed Kummi, but Etoile seemed not to care. Inversely, she just clasped her hands together and pointed two fingers upward, head bent seemingly in prayer.

"COME ON, BITCH! WE'RE SETTLING THIS HERE AND NOW!" Kummi shouted, sending more flames at Etoile. Etoile held up a hand and the flames blew around her, revealing a spherical bubble around her.

"You've remained clueless since the day we met." Etoile said, observing something floating just above her palm. "And the most important thing that you need to realize is that SHE'S BETTER THAN YOU!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M BETTER AND **YOU KNOW IT!**" Kummi cried, but this times, her flames were directed a different direction. "I FUCKING WANT TO KILL YOU, MIRLLYNE, YOU BITCH! I HATE YOU AND ALWAYS HAVE!"

(I'm serious this time. Get behind me and _do not move until I say you can_.) Mirllyne ordered. Already around her balled fist flames had formed, bright, burning, orange flames that respected her personality. Kage stepped forward with her.

(Not alone. Never alone.) She replied. (You still alive up there, Etoile?)

(FUCK YES I FUCKING AM!) Etoile sang back, voice pulsing with energy. (No full uniforms. Let's just get rid of her.)

Pure, white-hot energy poured from where Etoile stood. Mirllyne unleashed the flames from her fist, but Kage hung back. Kummi tried to set up a barrier of her own fire, but wasn't fast enough. The other two angels' blasts met and she screamed.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to hit her?"

-&-&-&-

"They're in Heaven, yes, for the last time!" Enala explained to Tsukasa for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Don't go. Leave them be for right now." Tsukasa replied. "It's better that way. If they have the real Etoile and Kage, we should wait and see what Kummi's like when she returns. Zaffiel is watching to make sure things don't get too out of hand."

Enala pursed her lips. Tsukasa met her eyes and smiled warmly.

"I know you don't like this – but I promise you'll be able to go soon enough. Bide your strength until you need it." Tsukasa said. Enala sighed wearily and returned the smile.

"I guess you're right. But…you know that if I have too much at one time it hurts. I'll go let some of it out. I won't make promises too soon. If you see my sister, tell her that I'm storing. She'll know what I mean."

"Have fun."

-&-&-&-

"No…NO…**_NO_**. That is going **_TOO FAR_**." Etoile said. She clapped her hands and the pillar sunk right back into the ground. She half-walked half-ran toward the other girl standing next to Kummi, the girl with the midnight blue hair.

"I was wondering when I'd meet you. Hello, then. My name is Etoile." Mechanical Etoile smiled her robotic smile. The real Etoile tossed her head back, revealing her thoroughly pierced ears.

"Whoever designed you sucked. My hair and eyes are _way _lighter, and I have so many piercings that I drive people insane." Etoile said. She clapped her hands and placed them to her sword. In an instant, it had become a staff.

"Whoever designed me was trying to make me better than you, which I clearly am. Come on, show me what _you're _made of." Mecha-Etoile noted, smirking.

"Don't you dare, either of you." Death said, pointing her scythe. "I am warning both of you, or else I will not hesitate to destroy the two of you."

Etoile threw only one punch and then stalked away. Kage gripped her arm and looked into her eyes, seeing the fire raging beneath her skin and her want for revenge.

(Cool down. This will never get you anywhere.) Kage advised before Etoile shook herself free. Kummi's snarling face appeared behind Mecha-Etoile, wanting the same thing as the real Etoile.

"Come." Death ordered, pointing ahead with her scythe. "We are going to the single Gothic church in Heaven to meet the sins. Etoile, you are to calm down _right now_."

"Let's get out of here before Zaffiel shows up and busts us," Kummi suggested. "I'll deal with you later, you little bitch. For now, be happy you're not dead."

"And the same to you." Mirllyne said with overwhelming sarcasm. "Next time, Excalibur will be meeting your neck."

-&-&-&-

"So, now that you both have a reason to continue, you will, will you not?" Zaffiel interrogated, walking in slow circles around Kummi and Etoile.

"No choice. I was programmed to do as you wished and nothing else." Etoile replied. "I need more piercings. She has all the sins, not just three of them."

"I agree with that. I need revenge on that fucking little whore." Kummi snapped, playing with fireballs.

"The two of you are free to go. Send Nirine in if it wouldn't be too much trouble, that it shouldn't be." Zaffiel concluded as the two stood up.

"What the hell do you want?" Nirine demanded, entering once Kummi and Etoile were gone. Zaffiel pointed to one of the previously occupied chairs and Nirine sat.

"Are there going to be any more dreams?" Zaffiel asked, sitting on her desk instead of pacing. Nirine thought for a moment while playing with her halo, which was clasped in her hands.

"I don't know. There's not much more to give them without giving everything up." Nirine explained. She sighed. "ISV has a lot figured out already, so if anyone else _did _have any sort of post cognition, she'd get it really fast. I think it would be fairly pointless."

"I suppose you are right, that I do. They have Etoile and Kage with them, as well as Death and Fear. They are going for the sins, are they not?" Zaffiel commented.

"They are; what else would idiots like them do?" Nirine asked, grinning evilly.

-&-&-&-

"Copied me, Kage! How the hell would _you _feel if someone copied you and did the whole thing wrong?" Etoile pestered Kage. Kage turned to face the other angel.

"I'd be flattered. Copying _me, _of all the people there are to copy. Grow up, Etoile. We're going for the sins, not shaved ice in a park." Kage replied. Etoile scowled at the response. "Oh, pipe down, you sour bitch. As Death said before I did, you know how they get when they have to much of their specific sin around."

Joe could now easily identify the relationship between his mother and Etoile. Kage was calm and tried to keep Etoile in line, while Etoile caused mayhem for Kage to clean up. Both were perfectly happy with this, and Mirllyne always seemed to be around if either of them needed her.

"You call me a sour bitch? Talk about _hypocritical _bitch right there for you." Etoile replied, knowing Kage would get ticked by this. She was right.

"Oh, the two of you, cut it out." Oblivion said before they could go any further. Kage and Etoile both burst into laughter as she said this. Oblivion muttered something and continued on her way.

"Still, though. I'm going to turn that cheap clone into a new sword and kill Albireo again with it!" Etoile declared. Kage raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"You'll do whatever you want, I know that from years of living in the same dorm room. Even in matters of your own _health_ you disregard my opinion…" Kage commented, shaking her head.

"I'll second that." Mirllyne added, earning her a scowl.

"Screw you two hypocritical bitches. At least I can get some target practice in before I try to kill the rest of Chaos' family." Etoile said, purposely standing back. This time, she was ignored for a few seconds.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" Mirllyne and Kage screamed together. Etoile roared with laughter. Joe, too, couldn't help but chuckle at them.

"They make the perfect comedy team," Sadie noted, smiling widely. "So, what do you think of her?"

"Kage? She's…different than I…imagined as a kid." Joe explained, searching for the right words.

"I thought she was going to look like some punk-ass stoner bitch, but she's so…_warm_. She exudes such a nice aura, you can't help but feel comfortable around her." She replied, smiling in a detached way. "But I understand what you mean."

Joe watched again as Kage flapped her wings, as if trying to fly. Mirllyne gave her a funny look, then flapped her own and took off once more to the skies. Etoile shrugged and only managed to lift herself a few inches from the ground.

"There, look, the church." Death pointed. It loomed on the horizon as a magnificent black obstruction, almost daring to be seen. Fear continued to walk, as did Epsilon.

"Where are you going?" Oblivion asked, then nodded in understanding. "They can sense you're nearby. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

-&-&-&-

"NEVER FORGET YOUR PLACE AGAIN!" Zaffiel roared, backhanding the shaking little angel once again. "Never, ever, forget that you signed in for this. You insolent fool, you brought this to yourself. Go and cry, and see if I fucking care. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Zaffiel breathed deeply to calm herself. Memories had come back too strong and she'd had to let some of her steam off somehow. The younger angel ran off, bleeding, back to her room to calm the angry wounds.

"What was that all about?" Enala asked, walking around the corner the angel had just run around. Judging by Zaffiel's flushed cheeks, she'd been angry again. "Come on, I'll bring you to Tsukasa. Will that make you feel better?"

There was no need to ask. Zaffiel followed like a young child to Tsukasa's office, where Enala bowed and stepped aside to let Zaffiel enter. Tsukasa glanced up to see Zaffiel, who was nearly in tears.

"Come here." Tsukasa ordered, pushing away from her desk. Zaffiel ran over and collapsed to her knees, hugging Tsukasa. Tsukasa returned it and kissed the top of the angel's head. "How bad, Zaff…"

She was cut off by Zaffiel's lips on top of her own, as well as the feel of Zaffiel's warm hands around her slim waist. Tsukasa could tell that it was far worse this time, and Zaffiel's memories of abuse were coming back once more.

"Please, Tsukasa…I _need_…"

"What about Albireo? He almost found us last time, Zaffiel. This time, he could really get us and have us dead."

"_Fuck _Albireo. If he finds us, he can fucking _deal with it_."

This time, Zaffiel came on full force, and Tsukasa was ready, open mouth and all.

-&-&-&-

"They're inside. The sins are inside. Etoile, if you need to flash or rape anything, kindly do it now." Oblivion said. Etoile blew it away and clapped her hands to transform her sword to a tall thin staff. "Have at it then, you two."

Fear and Epsilon looked to one another. Fear's eyes were crystal-clear blue, and his were as red as ever. Taking one hand of the other and grabbing one of the two huge door handles, they pulled. She shut her eyes and her wings flapped insanely, as if struggling to get away. Finally, the doors creaked open. Epsilon stepped inside, then motioned that it was safe to come in.

If Death's Hall had been frightening, this made it look like the bright and sunny playground. There were pews made from stone with hymnbooks still lying open upon them; cobwebs played across their yellowed pages. Candles still burned in their wrought-iron candelabras and the faces of gargoyles smiled on either side of them. The altar held communion with rotted bread and evaporated wine. Its intricate black lace tablecloths and stunning iron candle holders (only one this time), however, did not compare to the large, circular stained glass window above it. The window depicted a beautiful woman holding a rose, but had pricked her finger upon a thorn, and another terribly, evilly gorgeous woman in the background was laughing at her for it. Sunlight tried to penetrate it and the other windows, but dust had set in and had no hope of being cleared.

Yet that was still not the worst part.

Seven people – only seven – stood around the church. Seven candles – only seven – still burned. The seven people were all dressed in black, though each had one of seven colors on: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, blue, and purple. There were four females and three males. All of their faces and bodies looked to be in various stages of torture. It started with what only looked like a flinch with arms held up (one of the boys) to a frozen scream, eyes wormed shut, arms held up, and on her knees. All their ears – regardless of gender – were pierced with whatever color they were wearing, as well as diamonds, apart from black.

Epsilon touched the girl who wore red. She shuddered awake, and as she did, one of the candles blew out. She blinked a few times, then fell onto Epsilon.

"You've…come. Does that mean…Albireo's…dead?" She asked, her red eyes identical to Epsilon's. "They'll…awaken…soon."

She managed to stand up on her own finally and pushed the long, perfectly straight black hair out of the way of her ears. Ruby earrings dripped from them, some just little posts and others long enough to sweep the ground. Her skirt missed the ground by about an inch and her sleeves covered to her fingertips; red lace and more rubies fringed both.

"Excuse my impoliteness. In life, I was Epsilon's brother, but now, I am not. I have become the sin of Lust, and that is my name." Lust said, giving a small bow.

"Oh…my…GOD!" Another girl screamed, this one being the one who had looked the farthest along in her torture. Her hair too was black, but it was shorter than Lust's and was restrained by a blue silk headband. Her eyes were the exact same shade as the headband was. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt that belled at the elbows, a black knee-length skirt, knee warmers just after the skirt ended, and black shoes. All along her ears were aquamarines, though none dripped quite as spectacularly as Lust's did.

"This is _my _sister. She is the sin of Pride, and Pride serves as her name as well." Fear explained, giving the closest thing to a smile yet. Pride arrogantly tossed her head back and smirked.

"A pleasure." Pride said. "Oh, I want Wrath to come back…then we can fight one another again."

As she said this, one of the boys began to move, cracking open his fantastic orange eyes and shaking out his already mussed black hair. A loose black long-sleeved shirt and baggy black pants held up by an orange belt covered him, but his feet remained bare. He stretched his arms out, then made as if he were about to fight something. Shaking his hair out of his ears, amber earrings glistened through the black strands, though they were all just posts and small hoops.

"'M hungry." It was another one of the males, and both his sunny yellow eyes were wide open. His black hair was up in spikes; his tight black shirt and loose black pants were form-fit to him. Like the boy with orange eyes, he wore no shoes, but wore fingerless yellow gloves. A few of his yellow citrine studs were cuffs, and even more were hoops.

"Wrath and Gluttony." Lust said, pointing. "Ah…the candles have blown out. Our souls have returned." She smiled, and as she did, there was a unanimous swoon, "Don't fall for my charm. I'm never a good thing to have."

"Nor are we." Two girls said.

The first had shoulder-long black hair and emerald green eyes. Her sleeves, unlike the rest, were short, though her skirt was long. It didn't cover her emerald slippers, and her hair revealed all the emeralds shot through her ears.

The other's hair was fell to the middle of her back, but was tied into a loose ponytail. Her indigo eyes blinked a few times. She wore a black tank top, a long black skirt like the others, black shoes, and fingerless indigo lace gloves that stretched from her upper arms all the way to her fingers. Her sapphire earrings were the most, and one had even been punched through her navel; they were almost as whimsical as Lust's were.

"Envy and Greed, and where's Sloth?" Pride asked. Envy turned her head. There, sitting on one of the pews, was a boy with a long black ponytail and shimmering purple eyes. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt and loose black pants, as well as black shoes. There was a purple cloth wrapped around his right wrist. All his amethyst earrings were posts, all but one that dangled to his waist.

"So. The seven of you, awake again." Death said. "Meet the new Prometheus and Pandora."

Pride stepped forward and studied Joe, then Francoise. She smirked.

"Should we see how they do in a fight of who has more of me?" Pride teased, smiling. "I see you, Etoile."

"Not now. We'll wait." Sloth said, rising. "It's good to know them now, though."

"Shall we leave now?" D.S. asked. "I can hear them. They're coming back."

-&-&-&-&-

((shoots self)) No reviews did she get...


	11. Allegro

Big hint as to why Zaffies and Tsu-chan are this way: think that one section last chapter with "_Fuck _Albireo". And there have been an infinite amount of times I've screwed this story up with PWAFD. Let's count the similarities:  
- wings. (entire story; Sunaziki and Akari in the major)  
- some type of structure in the opposing and allied forces. (the deck; Arono and his cronies)  
- another world with striking similarities and yet bizarrely different. (Carteli; Yugi and Yugi)  
- canon is your destiny, bitch! (not until THE chapter; Ash mainly, Mika not as much)  
- magic colors. (everyone, all the time; and we have Diamond to teach us the difference and Yugi to explain why)  
- remember the past, since only you can make the future. (KRIS! No one else, really…maybe Sunaziki, Arono, Mika, and possibly Kotake)

Sadie's notes: they use the f-word. OOOOOOHHHHH. A lot, though, so don't say that we didn't warn you. And there is some slightly graphic stuff in this chapter, so if you're scared, wait until **next** chapter to wet your pants.

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Nine: Allegro

-&-&-&-&-

"They're the real thing. There is no way that they couldn't be, since they broke the illness on Pandora. Speaking of whom…do you have the box?" Oblivion said, facing Pandora. She nodded and took the small wooden box out of one of her many folded robes. She handed it to Oblivion, who then passed it on to Francoise.

"But…why?" Francoise asked. She opened it, but Hope was not inside. It was empty. She closed it again and latched it.

"You were able to open it and free Hope the last time. If you truly are Pandora, in time, you'll be able to open it and see a tiara in there." Oblivion explained. She looked out toward Lunapolis, where the moon continued to shine. "But if you're not, then you won't be able to get into the temple, no matter who goes with you."

Now with more questions than ever, the ringing of the bells atop the church could only shock Francoise. She knew that it Energy and Wrath were the ones ringing them, and as they did, Pride and Sloth shut the doors to the church. Death ran her scythe over the handles to open the doors and they melted away.

Wrath allowed himself to be carried about halfway down from the top of the church, then jumped the rest of the way. Energy flew the entire way.

"I just noticed. Etoile's earrings…she has more than seven." Ra noted. "I thought you were only allowed to have seven max."

"No…in cases like _hers_…she can pierce with diamonds. We have." Envy said, pointing to places where there were diamonds in her own ears. "There are a few very rare cases like that, and she is certainly one of them. Wait until she gets going, and oh shit, you're in for it."

Etoile curtsied, but then dropped into the splits and pointed. "Zaffiel at twelve o'clock. Looks pissed." She grinned and snapped back up to a standing position. "Ah, she's brought Nirine with her. I wish it were Kummi, though…"

"Easy on me for now," Wrath said, wagging a finger. Pride nodded in agreement.

"I've got to side with her on this one…I want to beat the crap out of Kummi." Mirllyne added, fire sprites sitting on her shoulders and flying around her. Kage cocked an eyebrow at her. "Okay, I'd love to kick the living shit out of Arien too. Can you agree with me on that one?"

Kage sighed. "There's no winning."

-&-&-&-

"I'm pissed."

"I know you are."

"I want to go back there and rip his balls off, cook them, and give them to him for dinner."

"A little harsh…but…okay."

"A _LITTLE? _AFTER WHAT HE DID TO HIS **SISTER**!"

Nirine fell silent and could only watch as Zaffiel shook with anger and pain. It had finally happened. Albireo had caught them and was now severely punishing Tsukasa. He had first given her a minor beating in front of Zaffiel, then ordered her away and promised he'd get to her next.

Her tears slid off her cheeks and hit the ground with little noise. Nirine wished for a second that she had a camera so she could record this, but thought twice on it. Zaffiel was already being punished; she didn't need any more crap.

"YO, BITCHFACE!" Etoile shouted, sprinting over. Nirine sighed. Now was really not the best time, but who was she to judge.

A brilliant blue blast was slammed back by a rose pink one, and clouds burst into the skies above. Zaffiel was obviously serenely pissed at Etoile now. Nirine held her hands out and a warm golden glow wrapped around them.

"And already, she's on it…" Kage trailed off. She looked to her side to see D.S. there. "You know, she hasn't told him yet. Will she?"

"Eventually. She also hasn't told you something." D.S. replied. "Oi, incoming."

Kage held up her arm and was protected by a mint green shield. She sighed and clapped her hands, then laid them to the dagger at her waist. In an instant, it was a halberd with pale green markings all up and down. She smirked.

(And this is the part where you learn your mother can kick ass.) Kage declared, charging out of her green bubble and twirling the halberd. It was a surreal moment.

The sky turned golden and Zaffiel's clouds began to pour rain. Each of the sins suddenly blazed their color, and all the coordinating earrings (on them or not) twinkled. Kage stopped mid-leap with her halberd held high over her head. Etoile's hands pulsed blue magical light, and Zaffiel's had rose-colored orbs floating around them. All around Joe and Francoise white light burned, and draped over Nirine was a black cloak of shadow.

"TAKE THAT!" Mirllyne shouted, Excalibur pointed at Nirine's heart. As she ran, Excalibur began to glow. With each step, it got brighter and brighter, and then…

Mirllyne screamed, as did Nirine, but both for different reasons. Mirllyne let go of her sword and stumbled backwards, and Nirine slowly fell to her knees. Red stained her clothes and her golden irises were slowly overtaken by black. Excalibur surged with light, as if it were sucking it away from the angel.

And suddenly, all that was left was the sound of the rain hitting the ground. Mirllyne fell; her face had turned chalky white. Kage landed neatly next to her, halberd pointed toward Nirine. There was really no need for it, though.

Excalibur was burning with light from the blade and the crystals. As Mirllyne touched it, she yanked her hand away. It drew itself out and sat on the ground, its glow slowly fading away.

Nirine was dead.

"Was that you, or was it that fucking sword?" Zaffiel asked, stepping toward Nirine. "You do know that it is a holy sword, and only…dead. There's nothing that we can do now for her, that we can't."

-&-&-&-

Fiella dipped the cloth back into the bowl and continued to wash Tsukasa's limp form off. In the state Tsukasa was currently in, she could do little more than cry and curse Albireo.

"You're not going to be able to do very much, you know." Enala said. "I don't care if it was your idea or not, but it was a stupid one regardless to bring back Albireo. The guy lives to kill and he doesn't care who he is as long as he can."

"I hate to say it, but she's right." Fiella agreed. "If you're this bad, it's something to think about how badly he'll do in Zaffiel. As much as a lot of us can't stand her…" Here she received a glare from Tsukasa, "We all have to realize that the only way this happened was because someone did the same thing to her."

"You know…yeah. Cutting. That's what she tried…but it never worked. They say angels can't die until they complete the task they were given." Tsukasa little more than whispered. "It feels…almost…nice. I…have some…too…we…did…cut…uuuunnnhhh."

The twins' eyes locked over her unconscious form. Fiella simply continued to work while Enala finished weaving the bandages. But both knew that Tsukasa was unraveled completely now – though prying into her for information would be easy, it wouldn't be smart. Zaffiel would be at the top of her guard to watch out for her little lover and would be beating even more angels.

"Is that little girl better?" Fiella asked. "From yesterday."

Enala glanced up from her loom. "The scarring won't be too bad, but for the present, it'll hurt like hell. Good thinking, not using telepathy."

"She'd be able to hear us that way, I'm not stupid." Fiella replied. "This'll leave a nasty scar – right across the eye."

"I know you're not." Enala said, sighing. "That _is _strange – it's almost as if he meant it to be that way. He cut her right across the eye in the shape of a star."

-&-&-&-

Death's wings anxiously fluttered, and she nervously played with her scythe. She danced from foot to foot and her eyes were set on Nirine's corpse. Oblivion laid a hand on her arm.

"Not yet. Wait for Zaffiel to leave, then you can do whatever you'd like." Oblivion said. "With her here, you'll only piss her off more than she is right now."

"She has a point there." Pain agreed, taking Death's other arm and her scythe. She grunted slightly, but shifted her eyes from Nirine to the now fighting Zaffiel and Kage. Kage's halberd whipped through the air to deflect the blows from Zaffiel's slim wooden staff. As scary as it was to see the most feared angel from three hundred years ago fight the current most feared angel, it was equally beautiful.

The blades of Kage's weapon caught the light and Zaffiel's raindrops turned them and the brilliant moonlight into a rainbow hanging in the north. Suddenly, Zaffiel froze. She dropped her bo staff and fell to her knees.

"Good girl, much more obedient than that whore of a sister of mine." It was no other than Albireo, standing in front of Zaffiel with a sword held against her neck. "Thank you for beating her down so nicely, Kage. I'll take this time to return the favor I owe you and kill her right in front of you."

"You wouldn't _dare_," Kage said, paling. "I…no. You'll owe me a greater debt if you do."

"Oh, but I won't. I already got to Tsukasa. Enala and Fiella, stupid bitches they are, are back there helping her lick her wounds." He sneered, making a tiny cut across Zaffiel's neck. The angel snarled, grabbed the staff, and stabbed him in his sensitive area with it. She took advantage of it, seized him by the neck with her staff, and in five seconds had the situation reversed.

"How does it feel? How does it feel to have the little angel you had as your _slave _about to kick the crap out of you? How does it feel, you fucker? Tell me!" Zaffiel ordered, quite literally kicking his ass. As she panted, her eyes burned with bottled up emotions waiting to get free.

"Fuck you too, Zaffiel." Albireo choked out, then grabbed the staff outside of her hands and swung her over his head as if she were only a feather.

"STOP IT!" D.S. screamed, holding out a hand toward them. And, true to the two words she'd said, they froze mid- about to kick one another's asses. "Kami be praised that they didn't go in for it any sooner, or else I wouldn't have been ready in time. But they meant it, we can be sure of that."

Kage let out a long breath that she'd obviously been holding the entire time. "You're right about that. She's hated him ever since he enslaved her, but the only reason she's hung around is for Tsukasa. Not only does she feel sorry for her…"

"Oh, we all know they're in _l-o-v-e_." Etoile sang childishly, twirling her hair around a finger. She took a couple of steps to the point where she could touch Albireo. Once she could, she whispered to them, "_I'm _going to kill your dear Albireo, not _you_. You can be there, but _I'll _be the one to kill him with his own creation."

She smiled such an evil smile, and then backed away. "All right, who gets to teach us how to use a gun so I don't have to get all alchemist on you?"

-&-&-&-

Etoile sat patiently, waiting for Pierre to return with Ellie and Mango. Since they knew all her interior designs, they would be able to tell if another couple of piercings would screw anything up.

"Thanks for waiting." Pierre said, returning with only Mango. The teenage girl had short, unruly orange-blonde hair and soft brown eyes. Instantly, she ran her fingers over Etoile's ears.

"These are fine. But I'll warn you: four more will be the most you can do without frying her hearing." Mango announced. By habit, her other hand combed nervously through her wild hair. "Does she work okay? Do we need to get Ellie up?"

Pierre shook his head and patted Etoile's dark hair. "No to both, Mango. One other question, though. Did you use any of the _real _Etoile to create this one? The real Etoile, so I've heard, is awake and pissed."

Mango yanked on her hair. "Hmmm…nope. See, her hair's darker and so are her eyes, I think. I'm not sure, because I never met her. But we made her completely from scratch material and only used what Zaffiel and Tsukasa told us as design."

"I'm going to kill her to prove I'm better, you know." Etoile stated, standing and brushing Pierre's hand away. "I can take care of the next holes. Thank you for telling me that I can only do four more, Mango. That's just enough to cover the rest of the sins."

Mango was in a slight state of shock as the robot graced past her without so much as a word of farewell. The door slid open, Etoile breezed out, and the two remaining sat down.

"Well…she's certainly bitchy enough to be the real one. Maybe excessively so, but still, better to have more." Mango sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to get back to bed now…tired."

This time, Pierre nodded in reply to Mango. "If it were possible…could you make a clone of Death?"

Mango's eyes shot open. "_Death! _The angel? Sure…but it may be harder, since her talent is much harder to match than Etoile's."

-&-&-&-

Etoile aimed the gun, pulled the trigger, and a pumped-up bullet flew toward her target. The bullet had been charged with her magic and would make the wall implode. She turned and smirked.

"I _TOLD _YOU!" She declared, firing off another shot up into the sky.

"Be careful with that." Death warned. "I'm not going to be able to do anything for a while. Kindly disregard me for the next few moments…I have something to take care of."

Etoile easily fit the gun into her transmuted pouch. She was dead silent as she sat down on the ground. Death held up her scythe with both hands and a black rain glittered down from it. Almost as soon as it had started, it stopped, and revealed the transformed Death.

Her hair was one of the more impressive parts: it had grown, but was still uneven, falling to her chest with some outlining her face. Her tiny skirt and tank top had become a long, black robe, complete with wide sleeves. There were a few silver markings on it, but there was very little else. The hood was pulled up and had a teensy silver star where it ended; it was rounded at its peak. Her wings shot out the back and were much longer than before and now had several silver rings in them. Black slippers with silver patterns were on her feet. She rolled up the sleeves of the robe to reveal black arm warmers. Beneath the hood, pink eyes shone.

Death walked slowly to where Nirine lay dead, holding her scythe. Turning her head once away, she raised the scythe and swung it down on Nirine's stomach. A golden entity flew out of it and gathered around Death's hand. She removed the scythe and held out the hand with the golden light so it could fly off. After this, she returned to her normal state, but looked much more exhausted.

"I do apologize, but it had to be done." She said.

"Anyway." Kage began, "Now that we've gone and killed Nirine, it's only a matter of time before they find us and do the same."

Etoile fired more shots. "Trust me, we'll be fine, you worrywart. The only thing we have to worry about is getting into the temple. Francoise, would you open the box again?"

Francoise lifted the latch and gasped in surprise. Etoile lowered the gun and peered inside, then gave a loud whoop of joy.

"We've got our Pandora! Put it on." She exclaimed. "No…Joe, you put it on her."

Both were silent.

"Ah…you'll have to get better with that." Etoile said. "I've seen you two, and you're attracted to one another like positive and negative. But there is a time, and it's getting sooner with each passing second, when you'll have to cast everything else but one another aside. That's what the temple is for. To find Prometheus and Pandora."

Joe, though blushing insanely, lifted the diamond tiara out of Pandora's Box. As soon as it was clear of the box, the box splintered into wooden dust. Francoise gasped a little, as did Joe. But he set his face and laid the tiara so it was centered on her head. The second that he let it go, white light exploded from it.

"Oh yay, it fits." Mirllyne said. "Just hold still, it won't hurt."

She was right. The light spun around them like a cocoon and blazed brightly. After a few moments, it stopped, but left Joe wearing a golden circlet around his head with an emerald star at its helm. Francoise's tiara, in contrast, had a ruby star at its center.

"Prometheus and Pandora." Pandora said. "The box has shattered, Hope is freed, the sins exist in the world again…"

"Hey D.S., I know it's a random question, but is your full name Dal Segno al Coda? I mean…it's the only thing that really makes sense at this point." Sadie asked. D.S. looked at her, then nodded.

"Yes. Play to the D.S., go back to the S-mark, play until you reach the coda sign, then take the coda and play the ending. Put in layman's terms, of course." She replied, pointing to the S-mark over her left eye, then the coda mark through her right. "They thought I was going to be the angel of music…but…"

"We switched and screwed everything over." Etaf said. "Fate was meant to be the angel, but Destiny removed her wings and placed them on me instead. I became the angel, but never knew that I was born human. Fate later got her wings back…only after Destiny died."

"And Mirllyne fell in love, then was expelled…then lived on Earth." Kage said. "This is my guesswork, though. She never fell in love again, but sought out people that she thought could help her. But what she doesn't know - what I didn't know, even – is that Arthur never existed, nor did he leave her. She's had him the entire time."

-&-&-&-

Tsukasa woke up to find Zaffiel next to her. Her angel was not awake, and her smooth skin was wrapped up in bandages. Tsukasa didn't even need to think what had happened to her, or who had done it.

"I know you can hear me, you bastard." She said audibly, tightening her fingers into a fist.

"Oh, so you're awake now. How's your little playmate?" Albireo's bodiless voice said from somewhere above.

"What did you do to her!" Tsukasa screamed.

"Nothing."

"You fucking liar."

"You're right. Well, nothing she won't recover from. But it may take a while. Yours certainly will, my little sister."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Tell me, you asshole!"

"Such language! We should wash your mouth out for that! Nothing major, though. Her staff worked nicely for some of it, then I had Etoile transmute it into a dagger…well, take a look, why don't you? I'm watching you, too."

"No way."

"Then you'll be in there a while."

-&-&-&-

"That's not possible. I saw him dead in the river." Mirllyne stuttered.

"Yes, but with Excalibur next to him. He trained with that sword, didn't he? Ask the sword to reveal itself." Kage said. "Only you can do it now, Mirllyne, and he's the only thing that will unlock the temple gates."

"But…I saw his blood on the rock…and Death…" Mirllyne muttered; now with her arms wrapped around Excalibur.

"He asked me." Death answered simply, pointing to the sword. "I agree that his human body was indeed dead, but his soul and true body were not. If you would hurry it along, Mirllyne."

Mirllyne closed her eyes and said in a clear voice, "Excalibur, I command you to reveal your true form."

She opened her eyes to see a teenage boy with messy dark brown hair and icy blue eyes was standing in front of her. She grabbed his hand and traced his skin up his arm. Then she squealed in joy; this was her Arthur.

"Took you long enough." He said. "But…I'll be able to explain more later. Tell _them _what they need to be able to do when the time comes."

With a nod, he returned to the form of the sword in Mirllyne's arms. She pressed it in closer to her body, then placed it back to her hip.

"Well, as someone pointed out before…I glued myself to Sadie for a reason. I needed to get to Pandora because yes, I knew that it took Excalibur to enter the temple."

"Okay, before we go any further into this…one question. What is the temple, and WHY is it so important?" Francoise asked.

"A simple question with a very detailed answer." Etoile said. "I was once brought there, but was never let in; only Prometheus and Pandora are, as well as an expelled angel and a current angel. At the time, Pandora's Box had yet to be opened, so the only thing that happened near there were cleaning and protection spells. But we all knew what was going to happen, eventually, in it. Prometheus and Pandora, no, no sex, but…accept what they have to do. That's in short."

"In any case. I knew that Sadie had known you, and so I thought that you were friends in the past. For a while I was worried that I'd read her wrong, but then Joe turned up and I knew I had something right, since he had her reading too." Mirllyne continued. "And then…I met her. I thought I would be able to do something more, but wasn't able to do anything."

"So you lied…so you could come?" Ra asked. "You know, we would have let you. We're not very private. Hell, most of us wouldn't even notice."

"It doesn't matter now." Mirllyne replied. "What's done is done, and no one - maybe Dal - can change it. All that matters now is we get rid of Albireo before he does any more harm…and doesn't 'White Angel' have all your important things?"

And, due to how mature the group was, there was a wild outburst of laughter.

"All bad and/or sick jokes aside, yes." Sadie replied, sighing. "Come on, Etoile, Kage, Dal – can I call you that? – get suited up into your full uniforms. I'll just put everyone in a standard zero-zero uniform and we can…"

In seconds, all of the cyborgs from generations one and two wore red and gold and the generation three members wore blue and gold. The angels were easily singled out now in their more colorful clothing. Kage's eyes flicked toward Etoile.

"There's no more stalling. Come on, it doesn't hurt, and you know it. Besides, I could fix it without even trying if you did happen to get magically injured." Kage said. With a clap of her hands, green light swam around her and left her transformed.

You would have never guessed how old Kage was by looking at her now. Her long hair was tied back into a single braid, and her wings had extended by about two feet. The shirt she wore was short-sleeved and black with black ribbons lacing down in a V to her chest, widening as they reached back up to the neck; at the end of the ribbons were emerald stars. Her skirt was the kind that swirled when you made the slightest movement and was made of smooth black material with emeralds laced into them to form patterns. On her feet were black one-inch platforms with emeralds on the straps. She smiled, clapped her hands, and a tall, slim black staff with a green orb at the top was in her hands.

Etoile turned her head away, threw a hand up and drew it back down just as fast, so she too was now in her full uniform. The shirt was fairly tight midnight blue lace and widened significantly at the elbows. Again, two star-shaped holes had been torn to let her blue wings fly freely off. The black skirt was made of the same material as Kage's, but was instead sprinkled with sapphires and aquamarines. However, these hid the fact that she still wore chains, but these were more decorative and laced up her knees. Her hair had managed to pull itself back into a half ponytail, and cascaded down her back neatly, but the ponytail had captured all the most impressive ringlets.

Polaris' uniform was the same – but her skirt had diamonds, and she wore much fancier slippers as opposed to chains.

D.S. had also transformed within that time span. It was the first time Joe had seen her with her wild black hair down; her hazel eyes seemed to have gotten several shades lighter. She wore a white shirt that covered up to her shoulders and down to her navel that was skin-tight, then cut off. The black skirt had two slits up the sides that showed her legs that was also tight to her body, but fell all the way to her ankles. The shoes she wore were knee-high buckle-up boots, and the silver buckles glistened spectacularly. It was obvious now how tattooed she was; actually, all the angels' tattoos seemed more pronounced in Heaven.

"Well…there's not much else we can do." Oblivion said. "If they're all uniformed, then we may as well storm their headquarters and go from there."

"No, there is something left to do. We have to choose the angels that are going to go into the temple with Joe and Francoise." Etoile said, standing next to the two. "I'll volunteer myself as expelled angel. Should I be killed before we can reach the temple, who else will go?"

"I will." Polaris said.

"And I don't really have a choice in all this. I'm in for your current angel._ And _I have Excalibur…but that's just an added bonus." Mirllyne added sheepishly, raising her hand. Death, Oblivion, Fear, and Energy all cast her wary glances.

"We, Mirllyne, are also angels, despite the recent fallout. We must continue to exist because what we represent still exists in the world." Fear said. Death nodded in agreement with this.

"And just to get it straight, we're not really anything. We were humans…but now…hell, who knows what we are." Greed said, examining her fingernails.

Kage beat her wings mightily. "But both of you have to understand that all of us angels are willing to risk our lives for you two. You will bring the end to the Chaos tyranny on Heaven and return the angels to the skies, and make Hope even stronger in the world." She lifted a few feet off the ground. "Now, might I ask why they're all here?"

"They stole something from me! MY YURI!" Ra screamed, surprising the older angel. "But…y'know, we could die for Joe and Frannie, right?"

She received a few nods in reply.

"Good, it's settled. Let's get going. I have a feeling that this isn't going to be very pretty." Kage said, flapping her wings even more and flying off toward where the moon was just beginning to set.

-&-&-&-&-

OMGOMGOMG! WE'RE HERE!

START POPPING YOUR POPCORN NOW!

Next chapter resolves everything and leaves most questions answered! AND IT'S A SONGFIC! SEE YA THERE!


	12. Prestissimo, part one

**This chapter will be presented in songfic format. The song we will be using is Genesis of Next.**

Regular talk - "yay!"  
Telepathic conversations - (yay!)  
Personal thoughts - _yay!  
_Over-the-phone REGULAR TALK - yay!  
Over-the-phone singing - **_yay!  
_**Motion in the song is noted like **_((this))_**.

Please keep in mind that the FIRST person will be singing JAPANESE and the second will be singing at the same time in ENGLISH. Don't worry, you'll see.

The suggested listening music for this chapter is Genesis of Next, as you SHOULD know, is by GLOBE. On headphones, preferably. And somewhat loud. Increase volume as you go along. Full version, too. It's about ten minutes long, so you'll hear it a few times.

**Disclaimers:** Half-star Productions can not take liability for Cyborg 009 or the song Genesis of Next. Cyborg 009 is the exclusive property of Shotaro Ishinomori and Genesis of Next was composed by Tetsuya Komuro, performed by Keiko and Marc Panther (GLOBE). All characters not part of the White Angel Organization or from the realm of Heaven and its suburbs are the property of their creators.

**H A V E F U N !**

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Ten (Part One): Prestissimo

-&-&-&-&-

Mika: ((dials Sadie, waits for her to pick up)) Hey, Sadie!  
Sadie: huh?  
Mika: I've been working on Riprendere while you've been sick. Do you remember most of the story?  
Sadie: no…not really.  
Mika: Okay, so, two years after D.S. al Coda, the White Angel Organization teamed up with the remnants of the Black Ghost Organization. They stole what was most precious to generation three to get them to come after them. However a rogue angel, Mirllyne, was living with one of them. With her help, as well as all of generation zero and the cyborg team, they made it to Heaven. They were lead by Death into a hall in a destroyed city named Lunapolis, where she revived the most dangerous angels from their stasis. And after that, the seven deadliest sins were revived in their church. The whole time, Tsukasa and Zaffiel had been plotting with Albireo, who was resurrected for the occasion. And now that both teams are in Heaven…((phone line breaks up))  
Sadie: crap. ((redials Mika)) **_Hello?_**  
**_Mika: Hello?  
Sadie: hello genesis?_** **_  
Mika: yes!  
Sadie: can you hear me?  
Mika: Yes?  
Sadie: where am I?  
Mika: Hello?  
_**_**Sadie: Hello genesis, can you hear me!  
**__**Mika: yes! Where am I?  
**__**Sadie: hello?  
**__**Mika: you just get into…  
**__**Sadie: yes?  
**__**Crystal: ((picks up the line and enters the conversation)) hello?  
**__**Sadie: where?  
**__**Mika: the next genesis…  
**__**Crystal: yes, genesis of next.  
**__**Sadie: hello?  
**__**Mika: you just get into…  
**__**Sadie: yes, you are alone…  
**__**Crystal: alone on this planet.  
**__**All three: OVER.  
**__**((Enx and Anya pick up the same line))  
**__**Mika, Sadie, and Crystal: Nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…ONE!**_

Albireo laughed a cold and cruel laugh. He could see Kage flying toward his perfect fortress with all the angel and human soldiers just waiting to gut their so-called army. His sister would be able to get up soon, most likely just in time for their arrival. He figured that it would be senseless to beat Zaffiel up at this point; why not just leave her for the cyborgs? They'd be mad enough once they found out that they had never lost anything and had come for next to nothing.

He turned, hearing footsteps behind him. There stood Tsukasa, glowering at him. She was panting, but regardless, she had obviously walked there alone. Albireo drew his lips into a tight smile.

"Nice to see you're well, dearest sister." He said, meaning it in the most evil sense. She took a few more steps toward him and frowned.

"Where is she." She demanded. He smiled even more now.

"Where is who?" He played stupid, although he knew very well whom she meant.

"WHERE IS MY ZAFFIEL!" Tsukasa screamed, sending an extremely green blast of magic at him. He backed away, holding his hands up, but he was still smiling that crazy man's smile.

"She's making sure that our troops are ready. We have some very special guests coming, little Tsukasa. The only reason – the **only** one – that we healed you was so you could help us fight." Albireo said. Tsukasa glared holes into him. He did the same to her. "But know this: you are completely disposable to me. So is Zaffiel. I could give a shit less about the two of you now."

"Enala was right. I was high when I had the idea to resurrect you. I hope you die again, you bastard." Tsukasa snarled, turning and storming out of his office and out to find Zaffiel.

It didn't take long. She ran into Marco along the way, who pointed her in the right direction. From there, she felt strong enough to run, and she did. Zaffiel was in a different uniform this time, one quite unlike her other.

The shirt she wore was originally black, but had been colored on with blue, gray, purple, yellow, pink, green, and almost every other color a storm could be. It swept into a low neck and showed some of her shoulders, with slightly widened sleeves and loose to her waist. Holes had been cut jaggedly in the back so her wings were free. Her short skirt was gray with tiny blue drops all over, and a few inches below at her knees, her black boots began. They buckled on one and laced on the other. Her hair was down and held from her face by a gray headband. She waved a hand dismissively and turned to see Tsukasa.

"Oh my God, Tsukasa." Zaffiel said as the short brunette attacked her with a hug. "I thought that he killed you! Are you okay? You shouldn't be here, that you…"

"No, I do. This is the one chance we have to kill my fucking brother for fucking good." Tsukasa said. She backed away and looked up into the angel's blue-gray eyes. "Zaffiel. This is my fault. All of it. Don't fight, please, my Zaffiel. I could never stand to loose you."

Zaffiel shouted an order, then looked back at Tsukasa. She knew that Tsukasa, under normal circumstances, would be kept all day in her room under lock and key. But these weren't normal circumstances. This was the time when angels did not live in Heaven, where hell was just reality, where anything could happen if you so much as blinked. It was also a time where the forbidden was occurring everywhere you looked.

"What, you can tell me." Tsukasa said. Her bright eyes were downcast, as not to show her building grief over this matter. Zaffiel smiled.

"I will fight, Tsukasa. You will come with me, will you not?" Zaffiel said, now looking up into the sky above them. "The world has changed, not us, for once. But now we have the chance to change it again, change it back to a place without Albireo. Will you, Tsukasa? Come with me, and we can stop him together."

Tsukasa looked up into the night sky and saw the stars. They could keep shining without her, but they could shine even brighter without the threat of Albireo. Taking one step away from Zaffiel, she pointed to her clothes.

"I'll be right back. I need to change into traditional robes. This _is _war, and not everything is fair in it, especially numbers." Tsukasa said, once again walking off. Her office and room weren't far from where she was now. She dashed in, changed, and returned to Zaffiel.

Zaffiel could remember the last time she had seen any of Chaos' family in dress robes. It had been when she was only a little girl, but still, it was hard to forget that time. Tsukasa wore the black robes now, but beneath them, Zaffiel could see Tsukasa's own bright green ones. They were tied at the waist with an electrically green cincher, and the black robe's sleeves were sewn for about an inch slightly down the arms to reveal the bright green beneath.

"Albireo's are red underneath, right?" Zaffiel asked as the youngest child of Chaos returned, her robes billowing as she walked.

"Yeah, they are, I forgot." Tsukasa replied. "They were supposed to be black like his soul…but, I guess that they forbade that because of…"

Arien came flying toward them, already in her uniform. Her eyes looked panicked and her breathing was heavy.

"They're here, Tsukasa." Arien said, now standing in front of them. Tsukasa knew how she would react. It was for the best of things, she assured herself. Zaffiel gave her tiny shoulder a comforting squeeze to show that she was ready for what was coming, too.

"All of them? Pandora? The new Prometheus and Pandora and Kage and Etoile? Epsilon, Alpha, Omega and the sins? They're here?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes, ma'am. And the cyborgs look ready to fight." Arien replied.

"Well then, let's get into our stations. Tell Mango that she can release whenever she's ready. As for me…I'll finish getting ready. Zaffiel?" Tsukasa said, her face in a complete smirk. Zaffiel bowed her head and followed after Tsukasa.

"Let's do this."

_**((Anya begins to play))  
**__**  
Mika, Sadie, Crystal and Enx:  
Hizashiburi no kimi no half smile (Without being able to forget your first half smile)  
Wasurerarezu hajimaru genesis of next (in a long time, the genesis of next begins)  
I can't get you out of mind  
Hitori tatazumu Please tell me why... (you're standing alone please tell me why)  
But there's no easy answer**_

Etoile laughed at how easy the doors were to break through. She laughed that there was no security system. She even laughed at their fine predicament. But as soon as one guard showed up, she shot him down with a blue blast from her hands. And, at that too, she laughed.

"I don't see why that was so hilarious, you sour bitch, but okay, if it makes you happy." Kage muttered, bringing up the rear. Moonlight streamed in front the broken doors, lighting their path down the dark hall. Mirllyne was ready with small flames lit above her hands, as were Tie and Chang.

"So far, so good. Let's only hope that it keeps that way." Kage said audibly, walking to keep up as they continued into the darkness. Her staff glittered, too, as the darkness grew deeper. She didn't like this. People were watching.

"Get out here." Jet said. "COME OUT AND FIGHT US!"

Kage, Etoile, Mirllyne, Fear, Oblivion, Yami, Hikari, Dal (D.S.), Polaris, and Energy all prepared themselves. Arien came flying down and smiled.

"Nice to see that you finally showed up. _They've _been waiting for you. I would go get them all before Tsukasa and Albireo kill them." Arien suggested slyly to generation three. Sadie danced a little, then darted off without second thought. Ra followed, as well as Eleanor and Deak. Riko grunted, then sprinted to catch up.

"Any others?" Arien asked, then sighed. "Well, okay."

Enx looked in their direction and melted into the ground, only to be seen moments later running with the fading golden traces. Arien giggled. A cage of ice formed around them, and in an instant, the three with fire shot at it. This only made Arien laugh harder.

"Okay, the joke ended ages ago." Etoile said, finding one of Polaris's hands. She clasped it firmly in her own and nodded to the other angel.

"What's the point in trapping us? Aren't you more worried about them?" Mirllyne asked, now drawing Excalibur.

"Oh, no, not at all. The only reason was to lock them _out_. You see, we have a little surprise waiting for them." Arien said, an icy dagger forming in her hand. She aimed it for Joe. "Understand our reasons for doing this, but it's a necessary thing for our survival."

"You tricked them." Albert said. Arien formed another dagger and shot it toward him, but he shot it down before it could get within two yards of him. "They never had anything stolen from them…you just wanted them to get at us!"

"Aren't we the perceptive one." Arien said. The ice cage lowered in time for all the bullets they all shot to fly off into the darkness. "Oh, don't think that I'm letting you go. Think of it more as…letting _them_ have access to _you_."

"We split up. Joe, Francoise, Kage, Mirllyne; Epsilon, Death, Albert, Jet, Lust; Tie, Tirzah, Kim, Lily, Greed; Chang, Geromio, Pride, Oblivion, Fear; GB, Alpha, Kronos, Fate, Pyunma, Sloth; wait…we left Death back with Ivan on the Dolphin…okay. So then Hades, Polaris, Yami, Envy, Wrath; Energy, me, ISV, OV, Gluttony, Dal; Greed, Zeus, Poseidon, Pandora, Hikari. Am I forgetting anyone?" Omega said. She checked around. "When they get back, they can divide themselves up. For now, go where you may, but no two groups go the same way."

Etoile stood alone, watching as the others ran off. What trouble would she be able to get into alone? What, with her sword? She smiled and performed a simple searching spell, and within two seconds, was charging off down a hallway toward Albireo. When a procession of soldiers, including Arien, passed through the perpendicular hallway, she was careful to fly above them. If she caused chaos now, there would be no fun.

_**Mika and Crystal: Genesis of next  
**__**Please tell me! Is this a test?  
**__**Hey baby, do you need some help?  
**__**You are alone... lonely planet**_

Sadie stopped and imploded the keypad, which despite what she thought, also imploded the door. Ra's fingers drifted without a second thought to Soul Eater. Magma played around Riko's hands as she stepped into the darkness.

"What's in there?" Enx asked, popping up out of the ground. Ra's mouth hung open in shock, as did Deak's. For there, in the darkness, there was absolutely nothing.

"We've been tricked." Sadie said breathlessly. From behind her, a form with pink hair and red wings drew, holding a dagger. Sadie whirled around, caught the dagger from Fiella, and pointed it.

"What is going on. Why have we been tricked." Sadie wasn't even asking. She was beyond demanding. Fiella shrugged and vanished, only to reappear in her full uniform of pink and red.

"That, you will have to find out for yourself." Fiella said. Her pink hair was tied up in pigtails, and the shirt she wore was a sleeveless red one with a pink heart with a black "X" through it. The skirt was pink and reached to her knees, cutting off there for tight red socks and Mary Jane pumps that were pink. A quill of arrows was strapped to her back, and the bow was in her hands, which were decked out in frilly pale pink lace gloves. Her red wings flapped and she flew above them.

"You can ask my sister about it, but I doubt that you'll even get a half-assed answer, even from her!" Fiella called, laughing. She shot an arrow and purposely missed, just to get the cyborgs to jump. She smiled.

"If you think you're scaring us, bitch, you're sadly mistaken." Ra said, getting into position with Soul Eater. "You're just a little girl with a pair of fake wings and a skirt. What are you against us?"

"I'm an angel." Fiella said, and pointed an arrow for Ra. However, when she shot it, it went flying straight back at her. Ra smirked and swung the blade to the angel, who instantly backed away.

"And _I'm_ a cyborg with a legendary sword." Ra answered. "Let's count the differences, shall we?"

_**Sadie and Enx: genesis of next  
**__**you just get into  
**__**alone on this planet  
**__**lonely planet**_

It wasn't hard for Etoile to avoid all the swarms of soldiers and angels. A few she even knocked out, just for fun. Albireo's office was just ahead, she could feel it. She imploded the keypad and kicked the door down.

"If it isn't Etoile. So, they brought you back, too?" Albireo said, wearing robes identical to Tsukasa's, only with blood red robes beneath the black ones. "It seems like the past is repeating itself, with Prometheus and Pandora, you and me…"

"It's nice to see you too, Albireo. Now, what are you up to, since you never did like to be alone." Etoile responded. He smiled. Seeing this, Etoile deepened her frown. "You fucker! Who do you have hidden?"

Albireo was laughing. Etoile drew her sword, but then sheathed it and giggled. She could reverse the situation.

"I know that you've seen my clone of you. I'm sorry if they did a bad job of recreating you. But we didn't know that you were going to come back to life. I didn't know that I was either, if it makes you feel any better." Albireo said, pacing now. Etoile began to gather energy.

"My sister was the one who did it." He continued. "Her and that stupid angel, Zaffiel. Do you remember her, Etoile?"

"I only remember you and what you did to her!" Etoile screamed, clapping her hands and hitting the wall with them. The office began to collapse around them. "Well, Albireo, this _is _your show, so what are you going to do?"

Albireo jumped over his desk and grabbed the phone. "SEND HER IN, MANGO! AND TELL EVERYONE TO EVACUATE, **NOW**!"

(Get the hell out of here right NOW! I transmuted the building and it's falling apart! RUN!) Etoile also sent out her commands. Albireo ran out the door in the back of the office, and in trade, a dark figure walked out. Etoile's eyes opened, and this time, she drew her sword. This was almost worse than the clone of herself.

_**Mika and Sadie: Mata nozoita itsu mo no kagi ana (Peeking again through the usual keyhole)  
**__**Yami ni ussura jibun no kage dake (In the darkness is faintly just your own shadow)  
**__**Nokotta kizu boku wa iesezu (My injury that remained without healing)  
**__**Soko wa lonely planet (You're over there lonely planet)**_

No sooner had Kage heard what Etoile said was she flying up and out of the massive building with Joe hanging from one of her hands. Mirllyne was right next to her with Francoise. It wasn't easy to dodge the falling rock, but somehow, they managed to get out alive.

"Well, that didn't take too long." Mirllyne said, landing. "We hardly even got down that damn hallway. Why was Etoile screaming like that?"

"I forgot her!" Omega screamed, obviously angry at herself for this. "Damn bitch! I bet she just went to kill Albireo!" She froze. "What if…"

Dal looked around frantically. "They should all be fine. They have some abilities, don't they?" She looked frantic.

Out of the remaining building burst Kronos and Fate, with GB, Pyunma, Sloth and Alpha in tow. She and Omega ran to one another and clasped hands. A spectacular green light wrapped around them, and then the building completely fell to pieces. Hundreds were now left in the night of Heaven.

"Well, we have nothing left. Nowhere to run." Kummi said. She stepped out of the rubble and faced the ones that had gathered together. "You've been scattered, as have we."

Indigo flames flew from her hands, and she took flight. Mirllyne unleashed her own flames as she began to run clear across where the building used to be. From behind a particularly large slab of rock, Polaris flew, and aimed something out of both hands. Dal danced eagerly from foot to foot.

(They have…you won't believe me.) Etoile said. As she did, Kage whipped out her halberd and fended off one of the many soldiers that had fled the base.

(Try me.) Kage ordered, continuing the fight.

There was silence in all their minds as all of them fought someone. There was a large _BANG _from afar, and then a loud shout of "SHIT!". A figure wearing blue jumped out of the wreckage, and gold flew behind them as rockets burst from its feet.

"ALL CLEAR!" It was Sadie, and she screamed down into the destroyed building. From the area under her, a huge swell of magma burst forth, turning all of it into a pile of ash, and the rest of the cyborgs that had run off emerged. Riko stepped out, magma dancing around her slim hands.

(IT'S A MECHANICAL DEATH!) Etoile screamed mentally, terror in her voice. Kage hit the soldier and flunky angel she was fighting, then flew up to find where Etoile was fighting. As she did, the mechanical version of Etoile approached the groups on the ground. Kage flew rapidly off, scared to leave Joe, but knowing Etoile needed help.

(I'll be back, I promise…but having a clone of Death…is, well, deadly.) Kage said as she flew. She could see Polaris and Mirllyne's shadows as they fended off Kummi, and several more shadows of various angels.

"Nice to see you're alone." Enala smirked, pleased to find Kage this way. Kage whirled around to find the other angel, flying at her height, sword in hands. Enala lunged for Kage in mid-air, but Kage flew even faster than before, hands already pressed to transmute her halberd.

_**Crystal and Enx: Mitsume au shunkan toki ga tomatta (The moment we stare at each other time stopped)  
**__**Jyareau kotoba subete ano mama (Words we played on together all just as they are)  
**__**Toki no itazura daki ai nagara (Gimmick of time while we were holding each other)  
**__**Tobira wo shimezu tobi dashita... (Without closing the door we started to fly...)**_

"DAL!" Ra shouted, throwing off a soldier. Dal turned to face her, panic already setting in. She'd just got done fighting off two angels and a few more soldiers. She cast out a hand to freeze the soldier Ra was fighting, which the latter proceeded to beat. Once Ra was done, she sprinted over.

"Is it just me, or…" Ra paused to take a breath. "Or are they multiplying for every one we knock out?"

"You're right." Dal replied. "Watch out, here they come!"

Four angels flew down to attack them. Ra held up Soul Eater to two of the oncoming angels and shouted with all she could "LUNAR BLADE!"

Tsukasa watched from high above, riding on a cloud with Zaffiel and Albireo. They weren't going to enter the battle until the opposing force was completely worn out, and then, they were going to strike the temple. With the false Etoile and Death, this time was sure to come fairly soon. Zaffiel looked at Tsukasa.

"They're not doing all that bad. I'm surprised, that I am." Zaffiel said, crossing her knees. "Where are the two of them that we need?"

"Over there. Etoile found them." Albireo pointed, and both Zaffiel and Tsukasa's eyes followed. There was Joe, fending her off as best he could. Albireo smiled at it. Joe was obviously loosing and Etoile was not tired at all. She was throwing blue blasts at him faster than he could dodge, and it was beginning to show, even from their distance.

"You see, dear sister, without me, who would you have had to orchestrate this?" Albireo said, smirking in a very smug manner. Tsukasa rolled her eyes.

"If _I _weren't around, who would have resurrected your ugly ass?" She asked. "Look, Enala found Kage."

It was easy to see the wildly green blasts exploding in the west. Every once in a while, there was a flash of silver or brown, which had to be their hair flying around them. From the distance, there were no specific sounds, but it was obvious that they were screaming at one another.

"Aw, how cute. They work so well together." Albireo commented. "We have to destroy the temple before they can get to it, or else we're fucked any way we look at it. Think about it: if they're able to kiss before we get there, we'll end up just being their prisoners for the rest of eternity."

Tsukasa let out a sigh, leaning into Zaffiel. She hated to admit it, but Albireo was right for a change. Zaffiel gently laid her arms around the girl, ignoring the look they got from Albireo. If he intended to spend the remainder of time with them, he had better get used to this soon. Tsukasa continued to observe the fight they'd been hoping for since they'd met Marco and Pierre.

"That doesn't look good, that it doesn't." Zaffiel commented, tracing the star-shaped scar over the petite girl's eye. "How long have you had it?"

"Not long…not long at all." Tsukasa replied, tracing it now for herself. Zaffiel frowned.

"Did he do it to you?" She demanded.

"No, I did it to myself. Listen, Zaffiel…before Nirine was killed…she told me…" Tsukasa began, sitting up, but then something happened.

"You die right here, right now." Oblivion said, holding a crossbow to them. Her gray wings beat and she kicked Albireo so he fell off the cloud. "You two are next". With that, she loaded an arrow.

"Hold on tight." Zaffiel said, grabbing Tsukasa tightly in her arms. In one powerful motion, she leapt free of the cloud and began to fly like all hell.

_**Sadie and Enx: I can't get you out of my mind...((repeat eight times)) I CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND!**_

"So, you never thought you'd die like this, right?" Enala said, pressing Kage's halberd into its owner's neck. Kage continued to breathe evenly, afraid to make any movements in case the angel decided to call the earth to her needs.

"You're right, I thought I was going to die when I gave birth to my son." Kage replied, blindly drawing a transmutation circle from the blood that was dripping down her arm. Enala smirked at this and applied more pressure so blood began to ooze from the other angel's neck.

"But, you know, I really should be going. Etoile needs me." Kage said, clapping her hands together and laying one on the circle. In an instant, the ground surged up to send Enala flying backwards. Kage laughed, caught her staff as it fell, and charged off to find Etoile.

Etoile, at the moment, was still fighting the mechanical Death. The robot showed no signs of slowing her attacks down, whereas the real angel was beginning to have trouble moving. She wanted Kage – no, she _needed _Kage – to heal the bones she was sure had been broken. When the building had collapsed, she'd transmuted a shield, but it had been incomplete, so her right arm had all but been crushed.

"You know, for the angel that was supposed to be the strongest of them all, you are quite pathetic." Mecha-Death said. Her pink eyes flashed.

"Don't move, or I'll kill you." A voice said from behind her. Its owner was none other than Albert. Etoile just about heaved a sigh of relief and tackled him with a hug, but remembered the circumstances and restrained herself.

"And what can _you _do? You are no better than I am – made of steel, made to kill." Mecha-Death asked, still facing Etoile. Albert was caught by her question – it was one he'd asked himself several times.

"No, you've got it all wrong." He said, smiling now, recalling the conclusion he always came to. "I'm still part human, and no one can ever make me otherwise."

With that, both he and Etoile shot the robot at the exact same time. She fell to the ground in a heap of sparking metal, eyes wide open and mouth in a tight smile.

"I owe you one, big time." Etoile said, letting out a huge sigh. "She probably would have killed me if that went on much longer."

"Don't mention it." Albert said. "You look awful. What exactly did she do to you?"

"_There _you are! I've been…oh my God…" Kage stopped short of them, gaping at the sight of the robot on the ground, the battered angel, and the cyborg wiping his gun hand down. "Are you…okay?"

"I think a few bones are broken, but it's nothing that you can't fix, right?" Etoile asked. "We took care of _it_…" She kicked the robot, "in case you were wondering."

_**((Anya changes the key))  
**__**  
**__**Mika and Enx: Kagirareta sekai no naka (Inside the restricted world)  
**__**Anata wa ima nani shiteru no (What are you doing?)**_  
_**Mitasarenai yokubou wo (Being a bit selfish,)  
**__**Chotto shita wagamama butsukete ( you relieve your unsatisfied desires)**_

Things were not going well.

Kronos and Fate were frantically trying to defend the fainted form of OV, who had been knocked out by Fiella. About five feet away from them, Joe, Francoise, and Mirllyne fought desperately against Kummi and Mecha-Etoile.

The sins had no choice but to sit by and watch, considering they only had power when people really began to _sin_. This hadn't happened yet, so they all watched intently, though they would be able to feel it when it happened.

Pandora, Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus all fought together to fend off Arien and Enala. And when Fiella came flying over to help the opposing side, things only got worse.

(Etaf! Please come help us!) Fate begged, close to tears. When Fiella had finally figured it was pointless to keep fighting with them, she flew off to aid her sister. Fate had sunk down to her knees, wondering what was to become of them.

"Are you feeling okay? I can take you back if you aren't." Kronos offered, kneeling to look into Fate's eyes. She was shaking, and tears rained down her cheeks.

"She's going into hysterics! Slap her to get her out of it!" Someone called from above, and looking up, Kronos saw that it was Polaris. He did as she instructed, and Fate curled up into him to continue crying.

"Is she okay?" Polaris asked, landing next to them.

"I don't know what happened…we were fighting with Fiella, and suddenly, she was a mess." Kronos answered, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Should I take her back to Death?"

"Wait until Etaf gets here. You know how strong their connection is, and she'll be able to tell you. As for me…would you like me to stay?" Polaris said. "Look – some of them are coming already."

Deak, Tirzah, Jet, and Riko came sprinting across the ruins, all aiming behind them to oncoming soldiers. Riko would occasionally shoot magma with the bullets, and at one point, Deak shot a missile from her arm.

"So, look who's here. Isn't it cute?" Arien said, spinning on her heel. "Enala! Fiella! It's pointless. Break up, find the other angels. Take them out, and come back for these idiots later."

No sooner had she said this than did the twins depart, both in their different ways. Arien lazily held a hand up so a wall of pink ice formed between herself and the oncoming bullets. Kummi came dancing over, throwing flames at Joe and Francoise.

"You will stop. And you will do it now." Fear said. Her eyes were a dangerous shade of red, and her face was set into a horrid grimace. "Run. Run far, to the west. You must get to the temple before Albireo and Tsukasa."

Joe and Francoise wasted absolutely no time with this, Joe grabbing her and entering acceleration mode. Mirllyne looked to Fear, who nodded in reply. She took off after them, and all the while, watched for Kage. But what she saw instead was Zaffiel carrying Tsukasa, and in heavy pursuit was Oblivion.

(Kage? Are you alive?) She called, desperate.

(Yes, I'm fine. How are they? How are you?) The reply was almost breathless, as if Kage was flying.

(We're heading for the temple. We need Etoile if we're going to be able to do anything, though…Can you meet us there?) Mirllyne asked, drawing Excalibur and launching herself into the skies.

(Absolutely.)

_**((Anya changes keys again))**_

_**Crystal and Sadie: Ikiteiru dake datte (You say you're just living...)  
**__**Totetsumonai kotona no ni ne (even though it's an unreasonable thing to say isn't  
it?)  
**__**Koibito no aijyou toka yakimochi ni (Lovers' love and so forth with jealousy)  
**__**Toki wo torare namida nagashi (the moment is seized tears shedding)**_

Death sighed, staring out the windows of the Dolphin. Omega had been right: were she out there, everyone would have already died. She smoothed her skirt down and walked back to find something to drink, all the while, her wings littering feathers.

"DEATH!" It was Kronos, without a doubt. Death wheeled around in almost surprise, coming face to face with a shocked Kronos carrying a fainted Fate. Behind them came a hysteric Etaf, saying how sorry she was about everything.

"Is she alive?" Death asked, her voice rising. She danced out of nervousness, wringing her hands. She finally stretched one out to clasp Fate's and found it warm and quite alive.

"Can you keep her here? We're bringing OV too." Kronos asked. Without saying thanks, he left Death and Etaf standing there, Fate now resting in Death's arms.

Kronos ran head-first into Lily, who was making a run for the Dolphin. Terror was written plainly across her face, as was outright shock. He stepped aside and continued off to find where OV lay.

"Kronos!" Panthos shouted. It was a welcome sight to see the puppeteer uninjured, but what he held was not quite so good. He had Omega half leaning up against him, hair mangled and face bruised. On purple eye was surrounded by swollen flesh of the same color, and the other was closed.

"Is she…how bad?" Kronos asked.

"I'm alive." Omega said. "Find me my sister. And Somnis while you're at it, if it's not too much. I know Verita's already down."

Kronos nodded. "Where are you two going now?"

"Oh, you know, just to the end of the world. Akio and Rona are still there, and man, we could use them just about now, right?" Panthos answered, closing an eye and pointing off with his free arm to where it was. "We'll be back soon, don't worry, and Omega'll be just fine. Right, Omega?"

"THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL HER!" Omega suddenly screeched, startling the others out of their minds. She bolted upright and vanished, leaving them in silence.

Where she reappeared was with Zaffiel and Tsukasa, who were attempting to strangle Alpha. However bruised she was, Omega slammed her fist into Zaffiel's head and yanked her sister away before anything more could happen.

Both were crying as they held one another. Soft green light floated around them, as if trying to comfort the damage that had been done. Zaffiel wasn't really hurt by what Omega had done, but was rather pleased by what had happened.

"Zaffiel…" Tsukasa said, tugging on the angel's shirt. "I should tell you what Nirine said."

"Oh, no, you're not going to get to do that. I already know." ISV said, arriving just as the light died away around the sisters. "Y'see, she told me before Mirllyne killed her. So, Tsukasa, just keep it held back for a while longer. As for now…"

Alpha and Omega stood up, wiping their tears away, completely healed.

"I've got this. They're almost to the temple. Go catch them before anything happens." Tsukasa hissed, hands held in front of her. Zaffiel took off into the sky toward the temple, and Tsukasa unleashed wildly green light from both hands.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" She demanded, robes billowing as the power in her hands built. Alpha had shielded herself the first time, but the second round, she didn't think she was going to get so lucky.

_**((Anya changes keys))  
**_**_Crystal and Enx: 21st century hontou no ai (True love in the 21st century…)  
_**_**Tonari no seki no otoko to (isn't it a case of)  
**__**Igami atteru baai jyanai (quarreling with the guy next to you?)  
**__**Samishi gatteru basho jyanai (Isn't it a case of getting lonely?)**_

"There it is!" Mirllyne shouted. Joe was running at a normal speed now, Francoise's hand held within his own.

The temple was very plain: a set of wrought iron gates, two stone pillars, and a sheltered area just up from that. Joe and Francoise smiled to one another and finished the distance there, with Mirllyne just ahead.

"Here it is. Kage should be arriving any second…" Mirllyne said, pausing in front of the gates and taking a deep breath. Through the night, there was a piercing scream that rose above all the other ruckus.

"LET HER GO, YOU BASTARD!" Etoile roared, clapping her hands and dropping to the ground. As her hands hit, a spear rose up, and she took aim somewhere above. Looking up, Mirllyne saw Albireo.

"You stupid angel! Why should I let her go? She's already served her purpose, and that purpose is about to die!" Albireo shouted back, kicking a squirming Kage away to the ground. Joe could see that one of her wings was snapped at a ninety-degree angle so she couldn't fly, and understood then what they were dealing with.

"Don't touch her." Etoile said. "She'll heal herself. Go after him."

Kage wasn't moving. Francoise rushed over to her, but Etoile shot a small blue blast toward her.

"I said, leave her alone!" She shouted, pulling the sword from her waist and holding it at the ready. "Mirllyne, not yet! It's too early, and they'll just make everything worse! Keep them out of trouble!"

"No, Etoile. At any cost, we have to do it, because we don't know what he's planning." Mirllyne replied evenly. Etoile glared at her.

"Fine – get Kage somewhere safe at the very least." She said. "You two: stay safe. You don't want this…"

Albireo struck her from behind. She whirled around and kicked him upside the jaw, loaded with magic for extra measure. Mirllyne ran over as they fought to where Kage lay and gently felt the damaged wing. Blood seeped out of it, staining the other feathers. Joe got closer, almost afraid now of both of them.

"Hush, say nothing." Mecha-Etoile grabbed Francoise from behind, covering her mouth with one hand and binding the cyborg's hands with the other. Francoise dared not scream, for fear of what the robot would do to her if she did. She struggled, but to no avail, causing the fake Etoile to be amused.

"The gang's all here." Kummi remarked, tossing a flame between her hands. Mirllyne's head snapped up so quick that her neck hurt. "Oh, how sad, the big scary angel got hurt by Albireo! Ha! Some violent bitch _she_ is!"

"Shut up, Kummi." Mirllyne snarled, flames flickering to life on her palms. "Run far. I don't care; I'll get you two back together. You don't want her to touch you."

For the second time that night, Joe took off running far away.

_**Mika and Sadie: 21st century hontou no ai (21st century true love)  
**__**Furite kuru hikari wo miyou (Should I watch the light fall down?)  
**__**Nan ka ime-ji wo tsukamou (Should I grasp some image?)  
**__**Nan ka fure-zu wo sagasou (Should I look for some phrase?)**_

Dal collapsed, completely exhausted from fighting off all the lower-ranking angels and soldiers. Ra was in the same state, and neither of them really felt like doing anything but taking a long, long nap.

"D.S.!" Joe shouted. Dal looked up to see him running amid all the fallen soldiers. He had blood trickling down one of his arms.

"Where's Francoise?" Dal asked as soon as he was close enough. Everyone else had long since abandoned this place, so it was safe to speak openly.

"I don't know…one second we were at the temple, Albireo showed up…and then Mirllyne told me to run. She's going to send Francoise as soon as she can." Joe explained, taking a deep breath. Dal looked nervously over her shoulder. What she saw would have shocked her, but this was a battle, and nothing was really surprising any more.

"Miss us? Did you even notice we were gone?" Panthos said, walking out of the air, extending his hand. Next to him, head bowed, was the indisputable form of Rona, one of the guardians of the end of the world. Joe recognized her in an instant.

"I never imagined us meeting again under these circumstances, but it's a pleasure to see you again, Joe." Rona said, brown eyes just as alive as the last time they'd met. She rearranged her green skirts and placed a brown strand of hair back behind her golden headband, then looked out to where they stood.

"Tsukasa's been here. Speaking of the devil…" Rona said, gazing up. A white light came tumbling out of the sky, and as it hit the ground in a white blaze, it appeared to be Polaris.

"Whoa, what exactly is going on? These two show up, and it's 'oh, Akio, want to help us?', and now…" Akio muttered, white tuxedo stepping out of the air, the same as Joe had seen him last. "Look, it's Joe. Rumor has it that you're the new Prometheus."

Joe turned his head slightly, then remembered. "Yeah…that's what everyone seems to be saying."

"Fantastic! We have our work cut out for us, Rona!" Akio said, patting Joe on the head. "Now, where's the lady?"

"This one?" Mecha-Etoile asked, stepping out of the shadows. Akio did a double-take on the situation. Mecha-Etoile held Francoise's hands behind her back and a short dagger to her neck.

"That's never the real Etoile, right? She wouldn't do that, partly because she's been dead for a good long while now. Unless…" Akio wondered aloud, trying to figure it out.

"Let her go, you fake." Rona said calmly. "Francoise, hold perfectly still."

Rona turned her scythe around to the silver blade and raised it over her shoulder. "Your creator was a fool, you couldn't be more different from Etoile if you tried. Prepare to die." With that, she charged toward the robot and swung her scythe around to cleanly remove the fake wings.

"Your point?" The robot asked, smirking. Rona just grinned in return.

"This is!" Akio shouted, severing her left arm clean off her. Francoise stumbled away in shock.

"NOW IT'S TIME TO DIE!" Etoile cried from far above, falling right toward her mechanical copy. She drew her sword and smiled a haunted smile.

There was a gigantic pillar of electrical blue light that shot up, and then nothingness. Etoile stood over the robot's ruins, laughing. She clapped her hands and laid them down, and when she raised them again, she held a new sword.

"Oh, and when she finally comes, she doesn't say 'hi, Akio, nice to see you. By the way, thanks for helping…'" Akio said.

"All that to you as well as a nice big fuck you for not coming sooner." Etoile replied. "But thanks for showing up when you did, or else we'd never be able to do anything. And why the hell didn't you help poor Polaris?"

"I'm fine, really…just shaken…" Said angel said, sitting up. "Dal's been here, so it's not their fault."

"No, it's probably not. Anyhow, now that you're back together, stay that way. I don't give a fuck about what anyone else says, we can't afford to have you separated. I know Kage healed herself, so that's good. Now then, we need to find Tsukasa. Hopefully, someone already did."

_**((Star Kitten dials in and key changes))**_

_**Crystal and Enx: Sagasanakute iikarane dakara (If you don't look for it, it's fine, alright?)  
**__**Watashi no koreppocchi no yume nante (Therefore, since my so-called "small dream" is just broken)  
**__**Kakera dake de iikarane soshite (fragments, it's fine, alright?)  
**__**Ai wo dare ka ni agete hoshiino (So, do you want me to give my love to someone?)**_

Zaffiel sighed and shifted her position on the cloud. She had been watching as their first attempt at making a robot was killed, and then remembered about the clone of Death they still had. She thought about that for a few moments, then closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You know, you'd get a lot farther if you just came down." Tsukasa said, suddenly appearing next to the angel. "Oh, Zaffiel, why does it have to end like this? Why does it always end in such…such…"

"Chaos?" Zaffiel suggested. "You are his daughter, you know."

"Yes, as I've been told all my life. And that I'm that rotten bastard's sister. The only child people loved was Gaia – and no one even remembers her any more." Tsukasa finished, seating herself on Zaffiel's lap and kissing her.

"No matter. The bastard just wants us to kiss at the temple before Prometheus and Pandora, correct?" Zaffiel asked. Tsukasa nodded. "Easier said that done, obviously. They're keeping them together at all costs, so it's not going to be easy to pry them apart."

"I'll be back. You should come down, you know." Tsukasa said, vanishing once more into the fray. Zaffiel released another sigh. Rose pink hair waved about in a breeze, a sign that her temper was rising.

_Oh, what the hell. _She thought, waving a hand and stirring up the gathering winds. With a smirk, she left the cloud and rode down into the growing battle.

"You're here," Tsukasa whispered. "There they are. Mirllyne and his mother are following them around like parents do. It would be cute, but considering it's them, it isn't cute. Anyway, who do you want?"

"Kage." Zaffiel said. No sooner was the word out of her mouth than was she charging at the other angel. Kage turned just in time to see the rose-haired angel holding a sword at her and seized Joe.

(Hold on as tight as you can!) Kage said, pressing Joe's head into her chest and flying up as fast as she could. Mirllyne was right next to her carrying a shocked Francoise.

"What was _that _about?" Mirllyne asked the older angel. Kage shook her head, caught between shock and puzzlement.

"I'm not entirely sure myself…Joe, are you okay? Is Francoise alright as well?" Kage said, flapping her wings to maintain her altitude. Francoise nodded, and Joe looked up to confirm he was fine. "We're going to have to get back down there sooner or later…come, Joe."

Like he had any choice in the matter to do otherwise. Kage flew down, coming face-to-face with a petite brunette.

_**Mika and Sadie: Nigete onegai moshi ima nani mo kamo kuzurete (Please run away! If everything crumbles now)  
**__**Sukui motomeru shigunaru de saemo (even if my distress signal)  
**__**Watashi no toiki saemo todokanakutemo (and my deep sigh won't be answered)  
**__**Ashita wo kesazu ni ikireru kana (Without skipping tomorrow, I think I can live)  
**__**Ikireru kana ikireru kana... (I think I can live I think I can live...)**_

Etoile had stopped to think, which made for a good change in their current situation. Out of utter nowhere, a pink-haired girl came sprinting, with another girl who had pale orange-blonde hair. Their faces had looks of horror written on them.

"You're ordinary humans! Where the hell did you come from?" Etoile demanded, seizing the two of them. The one with pink hair actually started to cry.

"P-p-please don't h-h-h-hurt-t-t-t us!" She stammered. "We worked for Albireo…but we had to run…"

Etoile let them down. "I don't know who you are…and I doubt you know who I am. Let's keep it that way, because what I'm going to do…well, I may not be coming back form it this time." She gave a dry laugh. Then she saw Kage, who was in the middle of fighting Tsukasa. "Be right back. Hold still."

Joe was standing off to the side, as instructed by Mirllyne to do. He sighed a bit, and then he heard something, something rather like wings beating. Sure enough, there was Etoile, but she had a new sword.

"I'm half expecting Destiny and Cielle to come, but they're long dead." Mirllyne commented, landing neatly next to Joe. "I want the two of you to try and get to the temple. It's east from here. And try not to let anyone see you, okay?"

Joe and Francoise smiled to one another. They knew exactly what to do – or at least, Joe did. They joined hands and Joe clicked the switch in his back tooth. Within seconds, they were running through heaven at mach two, ignoring everything else.

With them gone, Mirllyne turned back to face where Kage was fighting.

(There are humans up here! They know what's going on and how to fix it!) Etoile announced, looking straight across toward Mirllyne. (Do you want to keep them with you for a bit while I help Kage?)

Mirllyne thought for a moment. (Sure, why not. I'll even take them back to where the base used to be. Think that would help?)

"That'd be excellent." The pink-haired girl said, now standing next to Mirllyne. "I'm Lusia, and this is Mango." Mirllyne looked away from them to see Etoile wave happily, then ran right into the fray that had become Tsukasa and Kage.

"This way. Come on, we might have to have the cyborgs help us." Mirllyne urged, starting to run. Lusia skipped lightly after her, and Mango ran alongside her.

"There's only one problem with that…Marco gave me the specs on the newer cyborgs, so before the base was destroyed, I came up with a virus that infected only their systems. It'll wear out eventually…but until then, they're frozen right where they stand." Mango said. Mirllyne froze.

"You mean…we don't have _any _of the third generation?" She asked. Mango nodded solemnly. "We need to hurry. Is it reversible?"

"No, not until whatever's going on at the temple happens. And even then, I'm not sure what exactly will happen." Mango said. "Why?"

Mirllyne frowned. This was not good, not good at all.

Joe and Francoise dropped out of acceleration. They were breathless. They stood in front of the temple, just as before, but this time, the moon was much higher in the sky. Stars exploded to the sides. It would be perfect, were it not for the sound of explosions going off every few seconds.

(Oh my God, what the hell happened?) Fate nearly screamed, panic eating her voice. (None…none…none of them are moving!)

(It's a virus that was developed. The rest of you are safe, all but the third generation cyborgs. Just calm down. Joe and Francoise, I will be there as soon as humanly possible. Etoile…I don't know about her. In the mean time, amuse yourselves.) Mirllyne explained as calmly as she could.

"Why, hello there. What a pleasant surprise this is." Zaffiel said, grinning smugly. Both Joe and Francoise took up fighting stance.

"Ready when you are," Francoise whispered.

_**Crystal and Enx: Akai sora wo jiyuu ni tobu tori ga (The birds that fly freely in the red sky)  
**__**Hane wo yasume kimi no soba ni nemuru (sleep by your side resting their wings)  
**__**Yume no naka de kimi wo sagashi mitsuke (in my dreams, they search, finding you,)  
**__**Itoshii lonely planet (My dear lonely planet)**_

Polaris sighed and planted her sword in the ground. "Well, Dal, this is getting to be insane. We keep fighting them off and all they do is come back."

"There aren't any more of them. Should we see if we can find any of the other angels?" Dal asked her older sister. Polaris sighed again.

"We could try. It might take a bit of work, but we could certainly see what we could find. I know that Death is back with their ship and…you are here with me. The rest, I don't know. Where did Akio and Rona get to?"

"Right here." Rona answered. "Joe and Francoise ran into Zaffiel. Shall we go help them?"

Dal nodded. "Where?"

"The temple. Polaris, are you going to stay here? Epsilon and Omega needed something." Akio said. Polaris nodded, and Dal took off into the night.

"Look…I know this isn't easy for you. It isn't easy on any of us…Fear is going to overload if we don't do something soon. We _need _to get Kage and Etoile to stop fighting Tsukasa. Time is the most important thing right now, and not even Kronos can do anything to slow it down. He's tried. Epsilon and Omega do need help. They need to stop the fight." Rona said. Polaris blinked her mismatched eyes.

"Absolutely. Are…are the children of the shrines going to be here at all? I know it's night…but won't at least Selene or one of them come? This isn't like them." Polaris said. Akio scratched his head.

"They're supposed to show. I don't know when." He said. "Now, come on. We've got to stop them from killing one another. We do in fact need all three alive. Goodness knows what's going to come of all this."

"I hate being here and not being able to do anything!" Artemis shouted, rounding on Helios. "Polaris just asked where the hell we were! We're right here, but we can't go anywhere!"

"Because we need to wait, my darling sister. Do not worry, the time is coming soon. We've know that this is going to happen for centuries. You should be able to wait a few more minutes, or even a couple of hours. Besides, all of us have to be here, not just you." Luna explained, folding her hands in her lap.

"I feel bad for poor Fear," Eos said. "And for the sins. Nothing to do but sit and watch, lest they destroy Heaven and many of the suburbs. We have it easy next to them. At least we get to help."

Artemis took a deep breath and sat down impatiently. "It's just that…well, everything was destroyed because of those damn angels. They try and blame all the dark angels for this! It's an outrage! Then…I could kill the bastards myself, but…"

"We are not allowed to interfere until Prometheus and Pandora have sealed our fate." Artemis, Diana, Luna, Selene, Umbra, Eos, Apollo, and Helios said in unison.

And at the temple, Joe and Francoise faced Zaffiel, ready to settle destiny once and for all.

**To be continued…**


	13. Prestissimo, part two

When we left off…

**And at the temple, Joe and Françoise faced Zaffiel, ready to settle destiny once and for all.**

-&-&-&-

Riprendere

Chapter Ten (Part Two): Prestissimo

-&-&-&-&-

_**Sadie and Enx: Devil in my shoes!  
**__**You left me alone...let you go (repeat five times)…you left me alone…let you go (repeat six more times) You left me alone…  
**__**and you're gone...**_

"It's true." Mirllyne confirmed with a depressed sigh, after kicking Sadie hard. "They aren't…moving. Well, let's get on with it. The sooner we're done, the better it is for us."

Lusia shifted from foot to foot and turned over in a handstand. "It's that way. I know that he put some of the rooms underground in case anything like this ever happened. We don't have much time." She took off once more, pink hair fluttering behind her.

"I can't begin to understand what he expects to do, but maybe…maybe he thinks that without them he can stop what we've all know is bound to happen at some point. Do you know?" Mirllyne asked, running after Lusia.

"I'm not sure. I got dragged into this without warning. Several of us did, and only a few escaped alive. Clarissa…they nearly killed her by stealing magic. Xeffie ran before they got her. Ellie, Lusia, and myself were all caught…and Alexanderia they killed for a magic source. It's absolutely horrid. I helped Ellie to build the fake Death and Etoile; they were prepared to build a whole army of replica angels if they had to." Mango explained. "I don't really know any of what's going on. I wish I did so I could help sort it all out."

Zaffiel smiled. "Little Joe and Françoise, all alone at long last. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, my dears." She spun her staff. "We have plans, and all of them can only happen if – pardon me for morbidity – you're both dead. I intend to kill you right here, right in front of all of their goal."

"You would not **dare**." Kage said, grimace pasted onto her soft features. "Get away from him, you bitch. If you lay one single finger on either of them, I kill the girl."

Etoile stepped forward, beaming at Zaffiel's dilemma. In her arms she held a squirming Tsukasa, with a dagger pressed into her wrist. "One wrong move and she won't see anything accomplished. What'll it be, sweetheart?"

Tsukasa had tears and blood streaming down her cheeks. The star-shaped scar over her left eye was open, and something strange was going on with it. It pulsed gently with a green light.

Zaffiel ground her teeth together, and in one move, slammed Joe with her staff. Etoile was just as fast in unleashing Tsukasa so Zaffiel could grab her. Chaos' daughter cried out when she saw her angel's eyes – the constant grayish haze over them had cleared, revealing perfect crystal blue.

Françoise could see the confusion written in both their faces, so took the opportunity to pound her blaster into Zaffiel's skull. Tsukasa screamed and grabbed Joe by the wrist. Out of somewhere in her robes, she pulled a gun and pointed it to his head.

"You ugly _bitch_. You heal my Zaffiel or I swear on my life you will _never _have another Prometheus." Tsukasa snapped, outrage so strong in her voice that it was tangible. Kage sighed and placed a hand over the bump on Zaffiel's head. Tsukasa frowned and hesitantly lowered the pistol. Zaffiel shook her head and Tsukasa lowered the pistol, but did not release Joe.

"What is it you want with them?" Etoile demanded. "And where's your darling brother? I have business with him that I must attend to."

But it was useless. Zaffiel, Tsukasa, and Joe were gone.

_**((Star Kitten and Anya change keys))**_

****_**  
**__**Mika and Sadie: Nureta hoho wo kaze ni sarashite (I expose my wet face to the wind)  
**__**Hoshi wo mi age (Looking up at the stars)  
**__**Mune ni chikau (I vow in my heart)**_

"Look, come on, we have to do _something_!" Panthos whined. Omega sighed and turned to face him.

"We came here to do what we could. With the current situation, I think that you'd only make life more difficult…wait." Omega replied, and then held up a finger. She pointed to Albireo, standing alone and facing away from where they were. Panthos was positively ecstatic. He wrapped the thread around his fingers deftly and signaled for Omega to back up.

In seconds, swarms of angels came pouring out of nothing, and Albireo looked nothing short of shock. Panthos smirked and moved the strings for the angels to start their attack. Albireo had a look of something between shock and amusement written across his face when the hundreds of angels came flying at him. He drew his broadswords and got ready to fight the first few.

The look of pure delight on Panthos' face could not be compared to anything. He was positively gleeful. Omega sat opposite him, staring off to see if anyone was coming.

Joe could only see furious green when he next woke up. He panicked – the green he was looking at was the same color as Tsukasa and Albireo's eyes. The green moved and revealed Zaffiel towering over him.

"We aren't here to hurt you." She said. "Tsukasa just healed your injuries. You'll be fine. You have to understand – Albireo…well, I'll just say that he didn't do exactly what Tsukasa and I thought he would."

Tsukasa turned to face him as he sat up. "My bastard of a brother, I should have know something like this would have happened. Most of the mayhem we've caused has all been staged for the sake of blinding him. We mean to get you into that fucking temple if it costs us our lives."

Joe staggered to his feet. "How am I supposed to believe you! You've tried to capture and kill us several times tonight! And even before that!"

"You _have _to believe her. She's not lying." Zaffiel said, moving over to place an arm comfortingly around Tsukasa. "We'll take you back there in a few minutes. Your Panthos seems to be doing a terribly good job at keeping shithead occupied."

Joe looked up into the oblivion. Stars were all around him, suspended in the midnight sky. He'd never imagined anything like this, not even as a child. His mother was fighting within a five-mile radius of where he was now. And…everyone he loved was here with him.

"Okay." He said finally. Tsukasa's face burst into a huge, earnest smile. Zaffiel grinned as well, brushing a stray hair behind her ear.

"Did you hear all of that?" Etoile asked, coming out of her trance. She had been using the stars to be able to listen to what Zaffiel and Tsukasa were telling Joe, and it was nothing less than shocking to her. Kage's face held a similar look, and Françoise was trembling.

"How the hell could it be true?" Etoile demanded, stomping the ground.

"They aren't lying." Françoise confirmed. "If Joe can believe them, so can I."

"You don't have to, you know." Kage said gently, ruby eyes looking into Françoise's aquamarine ones. Françoise nodded.

"I know. But…they're so sincere in what they're saying. How could they be lying?" She asked.

"It's your call, but here they come." Etoile warned.

_**Crystal and Enx: Omoide no uta (By humming to myself)  
**__**Kuchi zusande (songs of memories)  
**__**Kioku wo sotto  
**__**Taba nete iku (I gently bundle up recollections)**_

Pandora stopped the fast run she and Poseidon were traveling at. She shook her head and craned her neck to look up at the stars, then sighed. Poseidon walked back toward her after continuing on ahead.

"What's wrong? Are you still sick?" He asked, meeting her eyes. Pandora shook her head and bit her lip in frustration.

"It's nothing much…I'm just worried. For them." Pandora replied. "Let's keep moving."

Death walked through the Dolphin, pacing across rooms. She was nervous, but knew she couldn't do a thing without risking all of their lives. Every once in a while, someone would stop by with one who had been injured, but these were infrequent and she could do nothing to keep herself occupied. Listening to everyone scream directions to one another over a mental connection was almost unbearable.

"Death?" Fate asked, entering the room the angel was currently pacing. Death turned to face the young woman.

"I was wondering…what do you think they're doing? They can't do anything, right?" Fate said, eyes wandering around the room.

"Most likely something similar to what I am," Death answered. "I'm unable to do battle without running the risk of killing every single one of them – even Joe and Françoise. Even after the children are allowed to intervene, I will not be able to…"

"What do you think of them – Joe and Françoise?" Fate asked, now sitting down.

"They're not the same as I expected them to be…no, they're much different. At the same time, though, they're the only ones who suit the description. Both of them are very kind and very accepting, just like the Prometheus and Pandora of old. No – I like the two of them. They're perfect." Death said, a ghost of a smile crossing her face. Fate smiled.

"I like them, too. When I first met them two years ago, I was skeptical of them, especially Joe. But they're different than I thought they would be. And Françoise turning out to be Pandora…it was a right turn for all of us who had been cut off form Heaven for so very long." Fate said. Death nodded.

Fate began humming softly, her eyes closed. It was the song that so very long ago, angels had sung in mourning. Death sighed and turned to look out a window, still wanting so desperately to help the progressing battle.

_**Mika and Sadie: Yasashi sugita (Trembling at words)  
**__**Kotoba ni yurare (that were too kind)  
**__**Namida nagashite (I want to shed tears and)  
**__**Hohoemitai (smile)**_

They were underground. Mirllyne held a hand in front of them as they walked through the empty halls, their footsteps echoing in the gloom. Lusia and Mango were alert, looking for the room that would help them to finally take the upper hand.

"Here it is." Mango said, stopping at a door to their right. She pressed a key code into a pad and the door slid open with a quiet hiss. Lights flickered on inside, revealing several computers and a display screen wall. Ten figures were displayed on the screen, all red. Under each one read "ISOLATED" – Mirllyne guessed that these were the ten newer cyborgs.

"Lusia, sit down. We've got a long code to be breaking in a very short amount of time." Mango said, fingers already a blur across a keyboard.

Joe, Zaffiel, and Tsukasa walked out to meet Kage, Étoile, and Françoise. Neither party was smiling, but once they were close enough to see one another's eyes, all who were not cyborgs prepared for an attack.

"I won't hurt you if you swear you won't hurt him or Françoise," Kage stated, eyes flashing dangerously. Zaffiel shook her head.

"We have no intention of doing such. The only one we want to hurt now is Albireo, and I'm certain that goal is similar to your own. All he wants is the two of you dead, and he will try to achieve that at any cost." Zaffiel said, returning her sword to its sheath. Tsukasa even nudged Joe forward toward Françoise.

Kage and Tsukasa lowered their weapons as well, but Étoile did not. She kept her sword at the ready.

"I still don't trust this. Until we have them into the temple, this isn't going anywhere." Étoile explained. Tsukasa nodded in understanding.

"I can't blame you. It was all my doing, after all. You have every right to kill me right now, where I stand. I won't try to stop you." Tsukasa said. Étoile blinked in surprise.

"No. I won't. The only one who will die by this sword is your bastard brother, you have my word." Étoile said. Tsukasa grinned.

"Let's get moving, I don't want to be the one to be close by when Albireo finds out that he's just fighting an illusion." Kage said, already starting to run again. Zaffiel was soon after, followed by Joe, Françoise, and Tsukasa.

"You know…you two really…are perfect. For this, I mean." Tsukasa said, smiling brightly. "I'm sure you've heard it…a million times…but you really, truly are."

Françoise smiled. They were almost to the temple, and as they approached, Tsukasa's smile seemed to widen.

"It will all be over soon, my darling, my dearest…" Zaffiel said, falling back to be next to Tsukasa. Both smiled as the moon climbed ever higher into the skies above.

_**Crystal and Enx: Okotta kizu boku wa iesezu (My injury that remained without healing)  
**__**Soko wa lonely planet (You're over there lonely planet)**_

Jet and Albert were standing with Oblivion, all three trying to remember which way the temple was from their current location. Around them were Lily, Tirzah, and Kim, all frozen where they had last been.

"Oblivion, would that be you?" Fear asked. Her eyes were translucent blue as she gazed unblinkingly at Jet. "You are afraid, for her." She pointed to Tirzah.

"I am…sort of. You could say that." Jet replied. Fear nodded sagely.

"It's that way." Oblivion said, pointing. "They're there, with Kage, Étoile, Zaffiel, and Tsukasa. I can't tell you exactly what's going on, but they're not fighting."

"Let's get going, then," Albert said. Oblivion nodded in agreement.

"How far in are you?" Mirllyne asked, watching Mango and Lusia's progress through the system. They'd been working non-stop.

"Well…at best, we'll only have part of the code cracked before it wears off altogether. I don't know when exactly that'll be…but everything's probably going fine. No need to worry." Lusia said, not pausing to turn around. Her fingers continued their pace along the keyboard, eyes glancing up every once in a while to look at the screen.

(Kage, how are things going up there?) Mirllyne asked, hoping she'd be able to get through.

(Fine – but we need you. Zaffiel and Tsukasa are on our side and are trying to help us, but none of us are currently official angels. Are you able to see us?) Kage asked in return. Mirllyne glanced around. She wasn't needed here – so what was the risk of leaving to get outside?

(I'm underground right now, but I'll be up there in a few minutes. Just hold tight, okay?) Mirllyne said, already walking toward the door. "I'll see you guys soon, okay?"

"Later," Mango said, waving a hand.

Mirllyne took off at a sprint down the hall in the direction they'd come, hoping no one had seen her come down here with the other two girls. Indigo flames suddenly engulfed her and she found herself face-to-face with Kummi.

"What do you want with me, you stupid bitch?" Mirllyne snarled, sending her own flames out against Kummi's. Kummi laughed.

"If you can't get out there, then they'll never be able to enter! Maybe I'll even kill you down here, and then I'll be able to return and help Albireo!" Kummi laughed insanely, charging toward Mirllyne with flaming fists.

"This isn't right…she should be here by now." Kage muttered, looking all around for the younger angel. She stumbled suddenly, inhaling sharply. Joe looked at her in mild panic.

"Are you alright?" Françoise asked politely. She noticed Kage grasping at her shoulder, and under the slender fingers, a damp spot.

"She's bleeding." Zaffiel said. "Crap…your sister better get here soon. Panthos is getting tired."

_**((Star Kitten changes keys)) **_

_**Mika and Sadie: Kagirareta sekai no naka (Inside the restricted world)  
**__**Anata wa ima nani shiteru no (What are you doing?)  
**__**Mitasarenai yokubou wo (Being a bit selfish,)  
**__**Chotto shita wagamama butsukete (you relieve your unsatisfied desires)**_

Albireo was beginning to feel only slightly exhausted, but Panthos was nearing unconsciousness from all the energy he'd used. Omega sat next to him, pouring her magic into his as best she could. Both were nearly depleted.

"'Mega, I don't know how much longer…" Panthos whispered, straining to keep his eyes open. "I can do this. He's too…too…strong…"

His eyelids slid shut and Omega gasped. This was it. They'd done it as long as they could, but now Panthos had fainted. No one but he could control the illusion threads, and it would be foolish for her to try with as little energy as she had left. So, without one more thought, she too fainted.

Just beyond where they now lay, Albireo took a deep breath and laughed maniacally. He looked up to see the stars and moon, just as before. A lone angel was flying overhead, and this one was not an illusion. It was Polaris. She looked down to see him and immediately began to climb higher into the skies.

"Not so fast, little angel," Albireo hissed, aiming a finger at Polaris. A bolt of blood red light burst forth and shot Polaris cleanly through her right wing, causing her to plummet from the skies above. Albireo smirked and set off to meet his sister, Prometheus, and Pandora at the temple.

"I've got you," Akio said, slowing Polaris' fall. She touched down to the ground gently, blood seeping out of her wing. Rona held her hands over the wound and the flesh began to weave itself back together, though the patch still remained bare of feathers.

"We need to go," Rona said. "Carry her, she'll still be too weak to walk."

Mirllyne was climbing the ladder to leave the scorched underground hallways, also leaving a collapsed Kummi behind her. Her own hair was badly singed and she had several burns, few of which were severe. As she hit the surface, she noticed that something had changed. There was no one anywhere near her, and almost all fighting had ceased. She lifted herself out and looked around, nervous now about how long she'd been fighting Kummi.

(Kage?) She asked urgently. (What's going on?)

(Nothing so to speak of. Get yourself over here as fast as you can, we need you. Albireo's on his way as well, so you have to teleport yourself.) Kage answered. In seconds, Mirllyne was standing next to her.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Mirllyne demanded as soon as she saw Kage grasping at her shoulder, breathing short and harsh.

"I should ask you the same thing, Mirllyne. I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Prepare yourself. You're about to go somewhere no one has been in a very, very long time." Kage said, glaring at her.

"Joe…before we go anywhere…" Mirllyne said, biting her lip and looking away. "I'm your aunt."

"**What**?" Joe demanded, looking at her. She turned to face him again, and he noticed for the first time that her eyes were the exact same hue as Kage's, and as his own.

"Kage's my older sister! You've got to understand, I couldn't tell you! You'd be too worried!" Mirllyne explained rapidly. She looked desperate. "Please, Joe…if I'd have told you any sooner, you'd have acted entirely different. Kage asked me not to tell you if we ever did meet…and I promised her."

"What a touching story. Save it for Satan."

_**((Anya changes keys))**_

_**Crystal and Enx: Ikiteiru dake datte (You say you're just living...)  
**__**Totetsumonai kotona no ni ne (even though it's an unreasonable thing to say isn't it?)  
**__**Koibito no aijyou toka yakimochi ni (Lovers' love and so forth with jealousy)  
**__**Toki wo torare namida nagashi (the moment is seized tears shedding)**_

"YOU!" Tsukasa shrieked, calling all the magic she had to her palms and holding them out. Zaffiel held her staff out, prepared to back Tsukasa up the whole way. Albireo smirked at them.

"You think you can do anything against me, you pathetic little fool?" He asked, taking a step. He was only a breath away from Tsukasa. "You were never able to do anything properly. This is just another example.

"We need to get in. Ignore him and let's _go_." Étoile hissed, nodding toward the gates.

"I heard that!" Albireo shouted, shooting another burst of magic at Étoile. However, she was ready. She pulled a revolver out of the back of her skirt, took aim, and fired. The bullet was flying at a supersonic speed, pulsing blue with her magic.

"RUN!" She shouted, and they broke out sprinting for the temple gates. They weren't too far away – only about 200 meters – and both Joe and Françoise were being carried by one of the angels. The angels stopped at the gates, placing Joe and Françoise on the ground. Mirllyne walked to the left pillar and Étoile to the right. Just as they were about to press their hands to the pillar, an invisible hand pressed Mirllyne flat to the ground.

"You bastard," Étoile muttered, still facing the pillar. "Stay here. Don't move, no matter who tells you to. I don't care if it's Kage. You will stay here."

She turned, and in both her hands were revolvers. She shot in rapid succession at Albireo, who dodged each one. Kage looked at her, wanting everything to work. Struggling, she stood, and pulled a gun out of a holster on her leg. She closed one eye and took as best of aim as she could, then fired. The bullet struck her target right in the back. Albireo turned around and faced her.

"Let's go, bastard." Kage hissed, clapping her hands and pulling another sword out of the ground.

"Mirllyne! Hold still!" Étoile shouted, closing her eyes. Mirllyne nodded weakly in response; all air had been pressed out of her lungs. Étoile took a deep breath and her magic circle lit up below her feet. Slowly, Mirllyne began to sit up, and her lungs inflated with huge breaths of air.

"I owe you one," Mirllyne said, grinning at Étoile. Étoile gazed solemnly at Kage, who was steadily growing weaker and weaker. Mirllyne, though, was looking to Zaffiel.

"Tsukasa…" Zaffiel said, holding the girl tightly. Tsukasa was crying.

"No, no, Zaffiel, you don't have to! No! They'll be fine, no, no, _NO_!" Tsukasa sobbed, clenching her angel. Zaffiel pressed her head to Tsukasa's, tears dripping down her cheeks as well.

"I have to, my darling. I have no choice, and besides, we'll see one another soon." Zaffiel said, kissing Tsukasa. Tsukasa kissed her back, then stepped away.

"HEY, BASTARD!" Zaffiel bellowed. Albireo reared, having been about to attack Kage. "COME OVER HERE!"

He began walking, and suddenly, the sun began to rise behind Zaffiel. "You've had one life too many, and I've been the cause of that. I'll be the one to see to it that you never live again!"

Sunlight began to bloom behind her, silhouetting her frame. Winds came sweeping in out of nowhere, binding Zaffiel in invisible chains. Albireo coughed up a rose-pink substance and rain began to pour out of nowhere. Tsukasa sobbed harder than ever as Zaffiel screamed in agony. Albireo continued to cough as the winds began to die back down, lowering Zaffiel to the ground. Her eyes were dull and her skin ashen. Tsukasa ran toward her, sobbing brutally into the angel's dead body.

"Let's go." Étoile and Mirllyne pressed their palms to the stone pillar. Slowly, the gates swung open to admit them. "We're waiting for you, Prometheus and Pandora. Go ahead, we'll be right behind you."

_**((Both switch keys and MAX THE VOLUME!))**_

_**Mika and Sadie: North, East, South, West  
**__**Hontou no ai natsukashii kotoba ni mayoi (True love lost in nostalgic words)  
**__**Ima kangaete mireba (if I try to think now,)  
**__**Kimi wa hitori de odotteita... (you were dancing alone...)**_

Joe and Françoise's hands were laced into one another, and they gazed into one another's eyes. Scarlet beams of light were lighting their path. They walked up a short flight of stairs to a small area where there was only a perfectly square slab of rock above their heads.

"STOP THEM!" Albireo screeched. Enala came darting out of nowhere. Étoile and Mirllyne entered the gates, which slammed shut behind them. Enala began performing the most advanced magic she could to try and enter, but nothing would work. Étoile looked up the path where golden light was just beginning to shine.

"This is it," She whispered to Mirllyne.

Without a single word, Joe kissed Françoise.

The sun's golden and topaz rays exploded all around them, stars still twinkling far above. The rain slowed to a drizzle, then stopped altogether. A single magic circle of blazing white light sparkled below their feet as some invisible force lifted them from where they stood. Their foreheads touched and they smiled to one another, lost in one another's embrace. Their tattered uniforms were replaced with royal clothes, and a golden circlet weaved itself into each of their hair.

"I…I…" Kage was weeping, standing just outside the gates. She smiled, all thoughts of pain miles away.

Their feet finally touched the ground again, and they were still smiling. All around them, faces were beaming. Mirllyne began to clap, tears streaming down her face. Étoile clapped as well, and applause followed them down the path. The gates swung open once more, and Kage stood ready to greet them with open arms. She hugged them both in turn, then together.

"Joe, Françoise…words can't express…" She said, ruby eyes glittering with tears. "Thank you."

Mirllyne and Étoile walked out of the temple, both elated. It felt like Albireo had not existed for weeks, years, centuries. Akio and Rona rushed toward them, Polaris positively thrilled with the events that had so recently transpired.

"Congratulations," Mirllyne said, too happy to raise her voice. "You did it."

_**Crystal and Enx: 21st century hontou no ai (21st century True love)  
**__**Furite kuru hikari wo miyou (Should I watch the light fall down?)  
**__**Nan ka ime-ji wo tsukamou (Should I grasp some image?)  
**__**Nan ka fure-zu wo sagasou (Should I look for some phrase?)**_

An explosion of black brought them all back to reality. Albireo stood flanked by Enala, Fiella, Kummi, and Arien. Arien held Tsukasa, who had been gagged so she couldn't scream for help. The scar above her eye was burning with green light and dripping dark blood.

"Well. You may be Prometheus and Pandora, but that doesn't mean you're going to live past tonight. Zaffiel took what power she'd originally given me when they resurrected me…but that's no matter. I'm still powerful enough to kill the two of you!" Albireo crowed. Tsukasa kicked and fought against her captor now more than ever, eyes desperate.

"Kill her." Albireo said. Arien drove a dagger into Tsukasa's neck, and just as she did, green light exploded from the scar. Arien dropped her like a hot bag of coals and Tsukasa writhed on the ground in pain. Albireo stepped forward and kicked her, and as he did, green light came gushing from his mouth. It solidified and dripped to the ground, forming a puddle there. Finally, Tsukasa fell limp, mouth hanging open and face drenched in blood.

"Give up now and we won't hurt you." Kage ordered. Albireo looked around. All of his angels were being restrained, all with weapons help up to them. Albireo took off running, pursued closely by Kage and Étoile. Mirllyne was close behind them, Excalibur drawn and ready to kill.

"Well great, what are we supposed to do now?" Artemis pouted, suddenly standing next to Joe. Joe looked at her, startled.

"Joe and Françoise! Prometheus and Pandora! Congrats!" Apollo shook Joe's hand and kissed Françoise's. "You'll be the greatest thing to happen here in Heaven since…since, well, Albireo died."

(Hurry, get into the Dolphin. Albireo set off a self-destruct for all the tunnels he made for his headquarters.) Kage warned.

With all the distraction, the four angels had broken free and were making a run for it. However, they met Jet, Albert, and Oblivion, none of whom looked happy. Chang came up behind them, letting a warning flame loose. Pyunma, GB, and Geromio came to stand next to them.

In seconds, Arien was fighting against Jet and Pyunma, Fiella was matched with Geromio, GB and Chang had Enala nearly begging for mercy, and Albert was finishing Mirllyne's work on Kummi.

"They do good work, don't they?" Artemis asked her brother. He laughed and nodded.

_**Crystal and Enx: Sagasanakute iikarane dakara (If you don't look for it, it's fine, alright?)  
**__**Watashi no koreppocchi no yume nante (Therefore, since my so-called "small dream" is just broken)  
**__**Kakera dake de iikarane soshite (fragments, it's fine, alright?)  
**__**Ai wo dare ka ni agete hoshiino (So, do you want me to give my love to someone?)**_

Death was now outside of the Dolphin, but stuck with Fate for good measure. They found Etaf, collapsed on the ground, which Fate had been understandably upset about. Fate had teleported her back to the Dolphin so nothing would come of her.

"Death? Is that…" Fate began to ask. She saw purple hair splayed out across the ground, and as she walked closer, saw the forms of Omega and Panthos. She knelt to check if they were still alive and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that they were.

Albireo grabbed at Kage, but missed by a few inches. She clapped her hands and swung for him, hopping to transmute his clothing into something else. Étoile reloaded one of her revolvers and began firing again, hopping to finally gain the upper hand in their insane three-on-one.

If Mango and Lusia could hear what was going on in the halls outside, they certainly didn't show it. Scorch marks were left up and down the walls, as were deep dents from swords swinging all over the place. There was no clear entrance or exit, and all the doors were sealed off.

"You're going to die tonight, bastard," Étoile said, furiously slashing her sword at Albireo. He ducked just in time to miss it and it found purchase instead in a keypad. Red lights began flashing all over, causing Étoile to swear loudly.

Mango and Lusia burst out of a room nearby, eyes wide in confusion. Another girl tumbled out of a door further down; she had long dark brown hair and dark green eyes that were clouded with sleep. All three looked at one another, then began to run toward the exit. The four who had been fighting were right behind them as the halls began to implode.

Oblivion could feel it, and Fear could as well. Oblivion gazed into Fear's now golden eyes. Death was getting closer to them, and with her was Fate.

"What's going on?" Fate asked Oblivion. Oblivion shook her head.

"I wish I could tell you – but this isn't of a natural cause. Could they have actually gotten underground, and could they have destroyed whatever's down there?" She asked. It was Fear's turn to shake her head.

"The last thing that Kage said was about getting to the underground portion of their old headquarters and setting them to destruct. I am not sure if this came to pass, but if it did, we will all need to get away as soon as we can. Especially taking into consideration that we have Prometheus and Pandora with us." Fear said calmly, shifting to look at Joe and Françoise. They were nervously glancing around, looking for anyone.

(GET OUT OF HERE!) Mirllyne screamed in all their minds, frantic. Death and Fear locked eyes.

_**Mika and Sadie: Nigete onegai moshi ima nani mo kamo kuzurete (Please run away! If everything crumbles now)  
**__**Sukui motomeru shigunaru de saemo (even if my distress signal)  
**__**Watashi no toiki saemo todokanakutemo (and my deep sigh won't be answered)**_

It all seemed to happen in slow motion: the slab of rock at the temple began to shake, then it began to slip off the four pillars supporting it. As it hit the ground, it crumbled, and the pillars around it began to break apart as well. The ground began to tremble.

Joe grabbed Françoise's hand and they started to run, hoping to find somewhere that wasn't affected by the underground explosions. Akio and Rona were with them, and Polaris was flying only a few inches above the ground to avoid the uneven ground. As they ran, they saw Death, Fear, Oblivion, and Fate. Between the four, Panthos and Omega were being carried.

"Joe! What's going on?" Ra called, chasing after him. Fate looked back in surprised, remembering that the last time she'd seen one of the newer cyborgs, they'd all been frozen where they stood.

"It's a long story! Just keep running!" Polaris said, not quite ready to offer an explanation quite yet about all that had happened. They passed Sadie, Lily, Tirzah, Kim…all of the third generation was moving again.

Out of nowhere, Kage pulled Étoile up out of the ground, and Mirllyne jumped clear of it carrying three humans. Just as Kage was about to slam the door leading down shut, Albireo jumped out as well, causing the girl with dark brown hair to hit him over the head as hard as she could with a nearby rock. He wobbled, but did not go down. The chase continued, this time only Kage and Étoile running after him.

"JOE!" Mirllyne shouted. She began to run with the three girls in tow toward the small herd of people.

"Who…who are all you people? What in God's name is going on?" The girl with dark brown hair asked.

"Who are you?" Mirllyne demanded. They continued to run all the while.

"I'm Ellie! Why are those people trying to kill Albireo, and why didn't they come sooner to do that? Why is Heaven crumbling?" Ellie asked, keeping pace easily.

"They're Kage and Étoile, and they're angels! Heaven is being destroyed because of that bastard you were working under! It's a long story!" Mirllyne answered, jumping to avoid a rock jutting up. Smaller groups were being formed again, and the fallen were being put onto backs as to be carried.

"We broke the virus! All of the cyborgs should be capable of movement once again!" Lusia called. Mirllyne nodded. This was good, maybe they could help again.

"Oh, shit. Where the hell did Joe and Françoise go?" Mirllyne asked, shaking her head. If they got in the way of Albireo, it was possible that they could be killed…and after everything, that would be the absolute worst-case scenario that could happen.

_**Crystal and Enx: Akai sora wo jiyuu ni tobu tori ga (The birds that fly freely in the red sky)  
**__**Hane wo yasume kimi no soba ni nemuru (sleep by your side resting their wings)  
**__**Yume no naka de kimi wo sagashi mitsuke (in my dreams, they search, finding you,)  
**__**Itoshii lonely planet (My dear lonely planet)**_

Joe looked up to see Dal and Hikari flying not to far overhead. But soon another being was flying overhead, and this one had two inanimate forms with it.

"You die here and now, Prometheus and Pandora!" Albireo shouted, directing several bolts of black down to strike Joe and Françoise. Joe found that he too could shoot magic like the others, so took aim and shot a few balls of scarlet up toward Albireo. The two inanimate forms fell and landed none too gently on the ground; they turned out to be the fainted forms of Kage and Étoile.

White light struck Albireo, causing him to fall to the ground as well. He landed on his feet, and above, Hikari cursed. Dal landed next to Joe.

"Thank God…Thank God…I thought he'd killed you…" She whispered, looking absolutely terrified. She crumpled and fell to the ground, Albireo standing and smirking behind her. Joe aimed a kick for his legs.

"Oh, so that's what you want? So be it!" Albireo swung a fist, and in no time, the two were fighting. Joe could tell that this would be the last of his strength going now, and he directed all of it on destroying Albireo.

Françoise gasped as they neared her, and took a well-aimed punch at Albireo. His neck snapped, but he laughed and snapped it back. Étoile began to sit up, arms shaking as she pulled her sword closer to her body. She watched as Joe, Albireo, and Françoise fought, knowing what she was going to do. Still shaking, she stood.

Albireo turned to face her. Étoile smirked, held up her sword, and drove it through his heart. His eyes bulged. Étoile leaned in and kissed him.

"You always did want me to do that, but I never would. Call it the kiss of death, and me kissing you farewell. And this time, I'm assured that you will _never _live again." She snarled, then pulled her sword out. Albireo fell to the ground, then disintegrated into a pile of black ashes. Rain began to pour relentlessly. Étoile sighed, closing her eyes and breathed heavily.

"Are his little…bitches gone?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Joe said. "But we'll finish them off, don't worry. Thank you, Étoile."

"Thank you, Joe. I'll see you…" Étoile said, but never finished. She fainted.

"Ready?" Joe asked Françoise. She smiled tiredly and nodded.

"Whenever you are."

_**Mika and Sadie: Amai toki ni yurare sora wo nagame (Trembling in sweet time, gazing at the sky)  
**__**Nemuru yoru no ame ni namida nagashi (Hiding tears in the rain of the sleepy night)  
**__**Kako wo kabai itamu kizu wo ieshi (Covering up my past, healing my aching injury)  
**__**Asu wo kesazu ni ikireru kana... (Without skipping tomorrow, I think I can live...)**_

Fiella fell, and Enala was short to join her on the ground. With one final kick, Kummi went down, and at long last, Arien did as well.

"Joe! There you are!" Jet called, seeing Joe coming out of acceleration with Françoise. "They're all gone! All of 'em!"

Joe faltered for a moment, feeling a burning sensation. He looked at his leg, and sure enough, indigo flames licked at it. He reached for the nearest weapon so he could fight Kummi, who was standing once again.

"Pathetic. Downright pathetic. Prometheus doesn't have a weapon?" She asked, circling. With one fluid movement, a tornado of flames was tearing across toward Joe, who was having trouble standing on the shaking ground. He dodged the flames, managing only to get licked across his back. Françoise had snuck away.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Kummi asked, now firing more flames. "Not in Tokyo, not at the gates, not ever! And stupid little Mirllyne, she doesn't know when to give up either!"

Joe was no longer fighting for offense. If he got away with his life, he'd be eternally grateful. He was thoroughly exhausted from fighting Albireo. The sky was scarlet above him with the sun still just rising, rain pouring out of nothing.

Kummi suddenly stumbled. Behind her, Françoise had hit the back of her legs with a fairly large rock, giving Joe just the advantage he needed. With a finalizing punch, Kummi fell. There was cheering from all around.

"It's over," Françoise said, resting a hand on Joe's shoulder. He smiled, worn out but content.

"It is." He and Françoise kissed again, completely unashamed by it. Rain continued to fall, drenching them completely. But it didn't matter. Albireo was gone. Things would return to normal for the angels.

"Joe? _Joe?_ Are you okay?" Someone's voice was asking. Purple spots bloomed across his vision and he felt Françoise's hand slip off his shoulder; there was a _thud _somewhere. The voice called his name again, pitch climbing higher and higher each time. More and more purple clouded his vision…

"Sleep now, Joe…"

And with that, he fainted.

_**((LOSE CONNECTION))**_


End file.
